The Demon on Academy Street
by serina-phantom
Summary: Based on "Sweeney Todd". Johan Andersen, taking on the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London after 15 years to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his dear son in the hands of the man who ruined his life. Now, he claims vengeance. Spiritshipping
1. Prologue

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right, guys! I know that you all must be thinking that this is yet another story of mine, but I assure you that this is probably going to be complete by either tomorrow night or Monday night!

Lucy: We had this idea, and it will not leave us alone, so here we are, typing it up!

Me: We got the idea when watching "_Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street_", directed by Tim Burton! He's a barking genius! Anyway, we hope you will all stick with this story and like it as much as we do!

Lucy: Please enjoy our prologue!!

**_Prologue_**

This is not a happy tale. Though you might have come here expecting a happy story without much dilemma and toil, then you are sadly mistaken. This is a story of nothing but tragedy, and maybe... redemption?

This is a story about a young man, accused of a crime he had not commited, forced to spend fifteen years in a prison, in the year 1846. This is the story of a man who escaped that prison and vanished across sea, back to London, the land in which he had been falsely accused and ripped from so long ago.

This is the story of a man who had the two people that meant the world to him ripped from his arms and taken away. For fifteen years, he was constantly worried if they were still alive, and if he would ever hold them in his arms again.

This is a story of one man's pain, and his approach at revenge.

**Attend the tale of Jehu Ralleigh.  
His skin was pale and his eyes were odd.  
He shaved the faces of gentlemen  
who never thereafter were heard of again.**

**He trod a path that few have trod  
Did Jehu Ralleigh  
The demon barber of Academy Street.  
He kept a shop in London town.**

He was just a simple barber, and he had a husband. They were happy as a couple could be. They never fought. They never argued. They were so madly in love.

This is a story about how this barber returned to London, seeking revenge on the man that had him imprisoned for so many countless years, and left him to suffer the heart-break of not holding his precious husband and his infant son in his arms.

**Of fancy clients and good renown  
And what if none of their souls were saved  
They went to their maker impeccably shaved.  
By Jehu,  
By Jehu Ralleigh**

**The demon barber of Academy Street.**

**Swing your razor wide!  
Jehu, hold it to the skies.  
Freely flows the blood of those who moralize.  
His needs were few, his room was bare.**

**A lavabo and a fancy chair.  
A mug of suds, and a leather strop,  
An apron, a towel, a pail, and a mop.  
For neatness he deserves a nod,  
Does Jehu Ralleigh,  
The demon barber of Academy Street.**

Now, do not get me wrong, this story might not be entirely full of tragedy. There might be redemption. There might be a small chance that this revenge-seeking man will see those he loves again.

If they even still live...

**Inconspicuous Jehu was,  
Quick, and quiet and clean he was.  
Back of his smile, under his word,  
Jehu heard music that nobody heard.**

**Jehu pondered and Jehu planned,  
Like a perfect machine he planned,**

**Jehu was smooth, Jehu was subtle,  
Jehu would blink, and rats would scuttle  
Jehu was smooth, Jehu was subtle  
Jehu would blink, and rats would scuttle**

Will he ever hold his family in his arms again? This thought constantly drove him mad. All those nights in prison, he would lay with his arms encircled around his own body, wishing desperately that his husband would be there in his arms when he awoke. He would awake with a great heartbreak when he could not see the man he loved.

**Jehu was smooth, Jehu was subtle,  
Jehu would blink, and rats would scuttle  
Jehu was smooth, Jehu was subtle  
Jehu would blink, and rats would scuttle**

**Jehu! Jehu! Jehu! Jehu!  
Jehu!**

**Jehu Ralleigh**

His crushing loneliness made him turn to unspeakable things. Things that even he could not imagine he would ever be able to do. But he would have his husband and child back in his arms if it killed him.

This transformed him into a monster, a madman bent on vengeance.

**Attend the tale of Jehu Ralleigh!  
Attend the tale of Jehu Ralleigh!**

**Jehu Ralleigh**

**He served a dark and avengeful God!  
He served a dark and avengeful God!**

**Jehu Ralleigh**

This monster would end countless lives, all in an attempt to gain vengeance for his lost family, who were forever kept away from him. Those ten years destroyed him, made him a monster.

He learned two things.

Never forget. Never forgive.

**What happened then, well that's the play,  
And he wouldn't want us to give it away...**

**Not Jehu**

**Not Jehu Ralleigh  
The demon barber of Academy...  
Street...**

And this is where our tale begins...

---

Me: Okay! The first chapter will be Johan's arrival in London after fifteen years of being in prison on a false charge! By the way, the prison he was in was in America, while his true home, and the story, are in London, England.

Lucy: Now, we hope to update "_Love is Blind_", "_Mary's Play House_", and "_Break_", by their this evening or by tomorrow in the morning! We will be working on our stories for as long as we can, and have no fears, we will not tire ourselves out, and we have the fullest intensions of finishing our stories, reposting the ones from our **animehime20** account, and finishing them soon!

Me: So, if you would all please, please enjoy this story, as it will be completed soon! We would, however, appreciate it if people would read our comments and review on each of the chapters, because we like hearing what people liked about the chapters, as in their favorite scene and such.

Lucy: It makes us happy to get reviews, that are kind, from our beloved readers, and we shall update our fics as soon as we are able, so please have no worries about that, guys!

Me: Please, please, please review this chapter, as well as the others to come, because we like having lots of reviews on our stories, rather than just a few. So please review!


	2. No Place Like London

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right! Here is chapter one, guys!

Lucy: Now, we would like you all to know that I shall update my other fics as soon as I can!

Me: But for right now, if you have not reviewed on the other chapter, then please do that, because we really want to get reviews on this story, so please do that for us! Sorry if it's annoying!

Lucy: Please enjoy the first chapter!

**_Chapter One: No Place Like London_**

The skies were dark and covered with clouds. The ship drew into port, the dark water churning beneath. Diana clung to the railing, looking to the dark city as it drew in. A storm was going to begin soon, the darkness in the air foretold so. The wind rustled through her black hair, her grey eyes shifting back and forth.

She clenched the shawl around her shoulders tightly. It was old and tattered, unfit to keep her warm. Her top was fairly revealing, hanging low and resting just above her beasts. It was old and tattered as well, some of it soaked and faded with sea water. The bottom of the dress had been torn away years ago, and she now wore a pair of torn black pants, uncommon for a lady. On her hand was a pair of black gloves.

[Diana]  
**I have sailed the world  
beheld its wonders  
from the dardinells,  
to the mountains of Peru,  
But there's no place like London!  
I feel home again...  
I could hear the city bells ring...  
Whatever would I do?  
No there's...**

Diana glanced over as her companion stepped up beside her. He was taller than she by a few inches, and older by quite a bit. He was in his thirties at the least. A few grey streaks marked his teal, spiked hair, which frame around his face. Emerald eyes watched the skies with distain, lips pulled into a fine line.

He was dressed in dark clothes, a black vest over a white longsleeve shirt. He wore black pants as well, a torn jacket thrown over himself to keep him warm.

[Johan]  
**No place like London...**

"Mr. Ralleigh, sir?" Diana asked.

Johan turned towards his companion with pity in his eyes. He had lied and told the girl a false name. His last name was not Ralleigh. He had told her that so she wouldn't know who he truly was.

[Johan]  
**You are young...  
Life has been kind to you...  
You will learn.**

Johan sighed and stepped off the boat ever so slowly, the girl following close behind him. They carried no luggage, they did not have any. Neither of them had when they had come on the boat, even though it had been at two totally separate times.

Once they were on the lamp-lit, cobblestone streets, Johan ran a hand through his grey-teal hair. Emerald eyes looked around at the candle-lit windows with little emotion or care.

"'Tis here we go our separate ways," he said softly. "Farewell Diana. I will not soon forget the good ship bountiful, nor the young woman who saved my life."

The young female smiled at him.

"There's no cause to thank me for that, sir," she told him. "It would have been a poor Christian indeed who would have spotted you pinching and tossing on that raft and not given the alarm."

Johan chuckled rather darkly at her comment.

"There's many a Christian would've done just that and not lost a winks sleep over it either," he explained with a sniff.

Diana chose not to say another word and followed right at Johan's heels. She clutched the shawl closer as a cold wind rustled through her. She looked at Johan in shock, wondering how he could go so long without feeling any cold. She was about to ask him when a beggar appeared out of the fog.

He was a ragged old thing, probably in his early thirties. He was dressed all in rags, a hood covering his face from view. A small amount of his long brown hair poked out from the hood, and his nose, chin, and lips were visible, but not his eyes or cheeks. He was holding his shaking hand out, covered in dried blood and dirt, moving it back and forth in front of himself slowly.

"Alms, alms for a miserable man, on a miserable chilly mornin'!" the beggar called out. His voice was dry and ragged and weak.

Johan felt generous that morning, so he fished into his pocket and drew out two small coins. He placed them into the beggar man's hands and closed the man's fist, nestling the coins in the palm of his hand.

The beggar looked up and gave Johan a weak smile, his hand still trembling. Johan noticed how thin the beggar was from such a close view. He was a pitiful sight, indeed.

"Thank ya, sir, thank ya..." the beggar whispered in his dry old voice. "It is very kind of you to give me these, but, my dear, it seems you have enough there to give out." The beggar pointed towards Johan's pocket.

The beggar looked around a bit, as if looking for anyone else. He reached his other hand out and moved it around in the same fashion. "Alms, alms for a pitiful man what's got wandering wits?" he called.

When no one answered him, the beggar turned his attention back to Johan and Diana. His hood-hidden face moved up and down slowly, scanning over Johan's body with interest. Johan saw his dry lips form a small 'O', as if coming to a realization. The beggar glanced up, and for a moment, Johan could see light reflecting off his dull bronze eyes, giving them some light.

"Hey! Don't I know you, mister?" the beggar asked.

"Must you glare at me, sir? I have never met you before," Johan said. He waved his hand slightly. "Please be on your way."

The beggar did not listen to Johan. Instead, he swooped in closer and moved his head around, scanning over the bluenette's face. His dull eyes sunk back into the shadow of the hood, invisible to Johan's eyes.

"Haven't I seen your face here before? Have you been away? Were you ever here before, sir? Don't I know you, mister?" the beggar asked questions over and over again.

Johan was starting to grown slightly angry with the beggar's constant nagging.

He waved his hand a bit firmer in the opposite direction. "Be on your way, sir. I have never met you before," he said. The beggar stood his ground and did not move a muscle. Johan could feel his temper rising. He wanted this beggar to go away. The beggar wasn't taking the hint. "Be on your way!" he yelled.

The beggar seemed to get the message and turned away from Johan. His hand raised into the same begging position as he walked off into the fog, waving back and forth gently.

"Alms, alms for a pitiful man!" His voice sunk into the fog and vanished when he was out of sight.

Diana glanced over and smiled at Johan once the beggar was gone. "Pardon me, sir, but there's no need to fear the likes of him, he's only a half-crazed beggar man..." she explained. "London's full of them."

Johan looked over at the young girl with a pitiful look.

"I beg your indulgence, girl, my mind is far from easy. For in the once familiar streets I feel a chill of ghostly shadows everywhere. Forgive me," he told her.

Diana shrugged her shoulders. "There is nothing to forgive."

Johan turned on his heel. He had to get out of there as quickly as he could. He had business that he had to take care of before he did anything else, and if he took too long, it would drive him mad, just thinking about it.

"Farewell, Diana.," he said, starting to take off.

The girl reached for him as he started to leave. "Mr. Ralleigh, before we part..." Diana started.

Johan stopped on his heels and turned to look at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

Diana folded her arms behind her back and rocked on her heels nervously. "I have honored my promise never to question you. Whatever brought you to that sorry shipwreck is your affair and yet, over many weeks of our voyage home, I've come to think of you as a friend, and if trouble lies ahead for you in London, if you need any help...or money," she told him.

Johan shook his head. "No!" he said.

**There's a whole in the world like a great black pit  
and the vermin of the world inhabit it  
and its morals aren't worth what a pig can spit  
and it goes by the name of London.**

**At the top of the hole sit the privileged few  
Making mock of the vermin in the lonely zoo  
turning beauty to filth and greed...  
I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders,  
for the cruelty of men is as wondrous as Peru  
but there's no place like London!**

**There was a barber and his husband  
and he was beautiful...  
a foolish barber and his husband.  
He was his reason for his life...  
and he was beautiful, and he was virtuous.  
And the barber was naive.**

**There was another man who saw  
that he was beautiful...  
A pias vulture of the law  
who, with a gesture of his claw  
removed the barber from his plate!  
And there was nothing but to wait!  
And he would fall!  
So soft!  
So young!  
So lost and oh so beautiful!**

Diana listened to the man's tale with interest and polite silence. Once Johan ceased, Diana decided that it was time to ask questions. She cleared her throat to gain his attention.

"The husband, sir, did he, sir, come?" she asked.

Johan sighed and looked to the skies.

[Johan]  
**Ah, that was many years ago...  
I doubt if anyone would know.**

Johan turned to the black-haired young woman. "Now leave me, Diana. There is somewhere I must go, something I must find out. Now, and alone," he told the young woman, not a day over sixteen.

"But surely we will meet again before I am off to Plymouth?" Diana asked.

Johan turned his back to her and started walking forward. "If you want you may well find me around Academy Street. I wouldn't wander.," he whispered, knowing well that Diana could hear him.

He said not another word to her as he started to walk in the direction of the house that reminded him so much of his beloved home. The place where he had lived so long ago. He wondered if it was still standing.

[Johan]  
**There's a hole in the world like a great black pit  
and it's filled with people who are filled with shit!  
And the vermin of the world inhabit it!**

After a while, Johan noticed that there was no one on the streets. He urged himself forward and looked at all the familiar houses and shops. He knew the names of several people in these places, and he wondered if they were still living there, or if some of them were even still alive. He glanced up and caught sight of the house he wanted to see.

It was a high two story building, and it looked imposing and dead. But Johan knew that there was someone living there. The candle in the window was enough.

Warmth filled Johan's pounding heart as he stepped to the door.

_Judai, I've come home_, the bluenette thought.

---

Me: Johan's come home, but will Judai be there?

Lucy: We hope to get the next chapter up as soon as we can, so we hope you all look forward to it, guys! Please review on the other chapter if you have not, because we want lots o' reviews on this story, please!

Me: We will update our other stories ASAP!

Lucy: Please review on the chapters, guys! It makes us happy to read reviews on **all** of our chapters, so please do this for us, and we shall update ASAP!


	3. The Worst Pies in London

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: Okay, guys! The next chapter!

Lucy: Johan has just come home, but will his darling Judai be there waiting for him like he hopes? Or is Judai somewhere else?

Me: Please review on the other chapters if you have not, because of our constant updating, we don't think we'll get as many reviews as we usually do, so we would like people to review each chapter if they may! Sorry if it seems annoying, but we really want reviews! It lets us known that people turly like our stories!

Lucy: So please read on and it warms our hearts to have people reading our stories!

**_Chapter Two: The Worst Pies in London_**

Johan pushed the door open cautiously and stepped in. He saw the place was filled with pies, all of the vile and disgusting. The room was dark, savor a few candles lighting the way. Looking up, Johan spotted a blond woman hard at work.

The blond woman's hair was messy and unkempt, tied behind her with a sloppy red ribbon. She wore an old black dress, low cut and revealing the top of her size D chest. Her hands were covered with thick, fingerless leather gloves, and she was busy cutting into a hard piece of age old meat for what appeared to be another pie.

When Johan pushed the door open, a bell jingled, and the woman looked up with wide golden eyes.

A smile brushed over her lips. A wild, almost mad smile.

[Asuka]  
**A customer!**

Johan took a step back as the woman slammed her cleaver down into the table she was working on. He was about to leave when the woman rushed towards him.

**Wait! What's yer rush? What's yer hurry?  
You gave me such a--**

Her hands slapped down on her dress, cleaning them off on the skirts. Dust and flour came from her gloves as she patted them a few times, making certain they they were clean.

**Fright. I thought you was a ghost.**

**Half a minute, can'tcher?  
Sit! Sit ye down!  
Sit!**

It was a demand, not a request, so Johan soon found himself seated at one of her dusty booths.

**All I meant is that I  
Haven't seen a customer for weeks.  
Did you come here for a pie, sir?**

When Johan nodded, the woman grabbed one of them off the counter and dusted it off. Johan silently groaned, since it did not look the appetizing. The woman pushed it in front of him.

**Do forgive me if my head's a little vague--**

She reached down and plucked something off the pie in front of the bluenette.

**Ugh!  
What is that?  
But you'd think we had the plague--**

She dropped whatever it was and stomped on it with the heel of her boot. Johan groaned silently again at the crunch he heard come from whatever it was she had stomped on.

**From the way that people--**

Her hand slapped down on something else on the pie.

**keep avoiding--**

She slapped the top of the pie a bit harder.

**No you don't!**

She cleaned her hand off on her skirts again and looked towards Johan with a kind smile. Johan settled uneasily into the chair, a little worried that the woman might be insane.

**Heaven knows I try, sir!  
But there's no one comes in even to inhale--  
Right you are, sir. would you like a drop of ale?**

Johan nodded slowly, after looking down at the pie. After seeing her battle with stuff that seemed to be living on top of it, he was certain that he was going to need the ale to wash it down with.

The woman sighed and pushed her hair out of her face, heading to the place where she kept her ale.

She poured down in a glass, not minding one bit that Johan wasn't speaking to her. She knew that he was busy questionably eyeballing her pie, wondering whether or not to eat it.

**Mind you, I can't hardly blame them  
These are probably the worst pies in London,  
I know why nobody cares to take them--  
I should know,  
I make them.  
But good? No,  
The worst pies in London--  
Even that's polite.  
The worst pies in London--  
If you doubt it take a bite.**

Johan looked at the pie and dared to take a bite. He sunk his teeth into the dusty, dry thing, ripped off a chuck, and tried to force the hard as a rock piece down his throat.

"Ugh!" he groaned, trying so hard not to hack it back up.

The blond woman flashing him a smile and shook her head slowly, hands on her hips.

[Asuka]  
**Is that just, disgusting?  
You have to concede it.  
It's nothing but crusting--  
Here drink this, you'll need it--**

The woman pushed the ale towards him. Johan grabbed it and chugged it quickly, as if he hadn't had anything to drink in ages. The woman smiled and wanders back to her counter to make another pie.

**The worst pies in London--**

**And no wonder with the price of meat  
What it is  
when you get it.  
Never thought I'd live to see the day men'd think it was a treat  
Finding poor  
Animals  
Wot are dying in the street.**

**Mrs. Mooney has a pie shop,  
Does a business, but I notice something weird--  
Lately, all her neighbors' cats have disappeared.  
Have to hand it to her--  
Wot I calls  
Enterprise,  
Popping pussies into pies.  
Wouldn't do in my shop--  
Just the thought of it's enough to make you sick.  
And I'm telling you them pussy cats is quick.**

She stopped and ran a dusty hand through her hair. She looked exhausted, and she must have been, because there were a few pies that were less dusty than the others, so she must have been making them all day.

**No denying times is hard, sir--  
Even harder than  
The worst pies in London.  
Only lard and nothing more--  
Is that just revolting?  
All greasy and gritty,  
It looks like it's molting,  
And tastes like--  
Well, pity  
A woman alone  
With limited wind  
And the worst pies in London!**

The woman put her cleaver down and put her hands on her hips, casting her golden gaze into Johan's direction. She smiled when she saw that he was still trying to swallow down the pie she had made.

**Ah sir,  
Times is hard. Times is hard.**

Johan got halfway through the pie before he could take no more.

He dropped the half eaten lump to the table, grabbed his ale, and started chugging it violently to wash out the taste of the dusty pie. The woman chuckled softly at the green tint on Johan's face.

"Trust me, darling, it's gonna take more than ale to wash that taste out," she said with a wink. She held her hand out to him. "Let's get you some gin to wash it out, shall we?"

Shrugging, Johan stood and followed her into the other room.

The room was fairly Victorian, but it was dark. Some of the furniture was dusty, and it was fairly crowded. The curtains were pulled closed. There was a small couch, right beside the fire place, where a fire was going. Johan took a seat there. The woman took a seat on the chair across from him after giving him a small glass of gin, which she kept on the mantel.

Johan looked up and spotted the inside stairs leading up to the room at the top of the house. He noticed that the stairs were dusty and it looked as if no one had stepped on them in ages.

"Isn't that a room up there over the shop?" he asked, jerking his thumb towards the stairs. "If times are so hard, why don't you rent it out? That should bring in something."

The blond woman looked over at the stairs. "Up there? Oh, no one will go near it. People think it's haunted." She sighed and pushed her messy blond hair out of her face. "You see, years ago, something happened up there. Something not very nice," her voice dulled down into a faint whisper.

Johan sat on the edge of his seat and listened.

---

Me: All right! So, Johan is going to find out what happened to Judai and where he is right now! So, if you wanna find out, then please read on and enjoy the rest of the story!

Lucy: And if you please, please review on the other chapters, cause I want reviews on all my chapters, please! It will make me never very happy, and I shall update quicker when I gets reviews!

Me: So please review on this one and all the others before and after it xD The button is your friend!


	4. Poor Thing

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: This is the next chapter!

Lucy: Johan will realize where Judai is and what happened to him! I know I have said this over and over, but please review the other chapters if you have not already done it! I really want reviews on this story, but only nice ones!

Me: So please read on and enjoy, but do not flame or be mean!

**_Chapter Three: Poor Thing_**

Asuka Tenjoin, the blond woman, hummed slightly, hesitating to start her tale. The fire roared beside her, making her hair glow like the sun. Johan arched an eyebrow, his soft breaths encouraging her to tell the tale.

[Asuka]  
**There was a barber and his husband,  
And he was happy,  
A proper artist with a knife,  
But they transported him for life.  
And he was innocent...**

"Andersen his name was--" the blond woman whispered. "Johan Andersen."

Johan flinched slightly at the name, the name he use to go by. It felt strange hearing it after all these years. He never spoke it, nor did he allow anyone to call him it.

Hell, no one even knew it was him.

"Transported?" he questioned. Asuka gave him a small nod. "What was his crime?"

Asuka scoffed and rolled her eyes. They seemed to glow in the orange and yellow flames."Tch. He had no crime. But if I had to choose..." she ran her tongue over her lips in thought. Finally, something came to her.

"Foolishness."

**He had this husband, you see,  
Pretty little thing.  
Silly little nit  
Had his chance for the moon on a string--  
Poor thing, poor thing.**

Her words painted an image for Johan as he remembered.

He remembered his Judai, his husband, his love. He remembered the small smile that Judai would always give him, the beauty of the boy that Johan had come to fall in love with.

Johan tried not to blush at the mere thought of the boy he had married and loved. It hurt his heart to know that Judai wasn't by his side at the moment, after he had been away from him for more than fifteen years.

**There was this lord, you see,  
Wanted him like mad, you see  
****Every day he'd send him a flower.  
But, did he come down from his tower?  
Sat up there and sobbed by the hour  
****Too bad. Pure thing.**

Johan snarled silently at the memory. He knew exactly who Asuka was referring to. It was the Lord Viper and his Beadle, Napoleon Bonaparte. The men who had caused Johan so much pain.

Johan recalled when he and Judai had been in the market, walking around. Johan had bought Judai a single red rose, which Judai was holding his hands, along with their year old son.

Johan remembered when Viper had come to him, had the authorities wrap him in chains, accuse him of a false crime, and then ship him away to the south, to America.

Johan remembered Judai's screams of protest, his cries of Johan's name. He remembered their son screaming for his daddy, reaching his little hands to the bluenette. Johan had screamed Judai's name over and over again, tears streaming down his cheeks. He remembered Viper putting his hand on Judai's shoulder as Johan was dragged to the boat that would take him to the prison in America, where he would spend the next fifteen years of his life.

**So they merely shipped the poor blighter off south, they did,  
Leaving him with nothing but grief and a year-old kid.  
Did he use his head even then? Oh no, God forbid!  
Poor fool.  
Ah, but there was worse yet to come--  
Poor thing.**

"Cecil, that was the baby's name. Pretty little Cecil..." Asuka breathed, lost in her thoughts.

Johan frowned at the mention of his son.

His son was beautiful, as he could remember. He remembered seeing Cecil the moment he was born. He reminded Johan so much of Judai. His hair was brown with teal streaks, his eyes green and brown mixed. He looked almost exactly like Judai, like his 'mother'. That's what Cecil had called Judai. He always called Judai "Mama", and Johan was always "Dada" or "Daddy".

"Go on," Johan said once he noticed that Asuka had stopped speaking.

Asuka gave him a tiny smile. "My, but you do like a good story, don't you?" she asked with a tittering chuckle. She looked to the fire, her grim side returning.

**Well, the Noble calls on him, all polite,  
Poor thing, poor thing.  
The lord, he tells him, is all contrite,  
He blames himself for his dreadful plight,  
He must come straight to his house tonight!  
Poor thing, poor thing.**

Johan could almost see Judai wandering towards Lord Viper's house with Napoleon leading the way. Johan could imagine Judai dressed in his best clothes, looking nervous and unsure.

Johan imagined Napoleon grabbing the young man's wrist and leading him towards the house whenever it seemed that Judai was going to back out and return to his house. It made Johan's blood boil, even though the images were all in his mind. Knowing the way that he thought, that was probably exactly what had happened.

Napoleon, the bastard...

**Of course, when he goes there,  
Poor thing, poor thing,  
They're havin' this ball, all in masks.  
There's no one he knows there,  
Poor dear, poor thing,  
He wanders tormented, and drinks,  
Poor thing.  
The lord has repented, he thinks,  
Poor thing.  
"Oh, where is Lord Viper?" he asks.**

Johan's eyes widened.

He imagined Judai wandering around a crowd of masked people, unsure of where the Lord was. He grew angry while thinking that Judai must have been tormented. What else would lead Judai to drink even a little alcohol?

Asuka scoffed disgustedly at her next words.

**He was there, all right--  
Only not so contrite!  
He wasn't no match for such craft, you see,  
And everyone thought it so droll.**

Johan felt his heart racing.

He imagined Judai walking into the crowd, being grabbed by the Lord Viper, who was masked and hidden well in the crowd. He imagined Judai being thrown to a couch or some small place, where the lord descended upon him.

Johan imagined the vile lord ravaging his husband, violating him and forcing him into giving up his body to the lord's vile wishes for pleasure and forced intercourse.

Judai's screams of agony, sorrow, and pain filled Johan's imagination.

**They figured he had to be daft, you see,  
So all of 'em stood there and laughed, you see!**

Johan could hear the nobles laughing at Judai's agonized screams, Viper's cape hiding the fact that he was violently raping the brunette. They all thought Judai's screams were because he was drunk, when he wasn't, and they were laughing at him.

They had laughed as that bastard took the young man by force. Johan's man, no less.

**Poor soul!  
Poor thing!**

"NOOOO!!" Johan hollered, ripping himself from his imagination. He leaped to his feet and clutched the mantel to the fireplace to keep from collapsing over. His knees were weak, his stomach flopping around like a fish. "Would no one have mercy on him?!"

Asuka did not seem shocked.

"So it is you--" she murmured softly. "Johan Andersen."

"Where is Judai?" Johan whispered violently. His voice filled with rage at the mere thought of Viper touching his husband. Let alone rape him in front of countless nobles, who laughed at him the whole time! "Where is my husband?!"

Asuka sighed, looked away, and clapped her hands against the arms of the chair.

"He poisoned himself. Got some chemical from around the corner, but he did not die," she explained. "He jumped off a cliff into the ocean shortly after his failed attempt. I couldn't ever find his body. Too deep. Too rocky." Asuka looked into Johan's hurt eyes. "And... he's got your son," she whispered.

Johan looked over, his eyes widened.

"He?" he asked in a weak voice. "You mean... Viper?"

"Adopted him like his own," Asuka said. She clapped her hands a few times against the arms of the old chair, scattering their dust.

Johan's knees almost gave way, the mantel the only thing keeping him standing. "Fifteen years I have lived in that hell on that false accusation... fifteen long years, praying that I would return home to my beloved husband and son..."

"I can't say the years were kind to ya, Mr. Andersen," Asuka rose to her feet and reached towards him. "But-"

"Not Andersen!" Johan snapped violently. He glared at her. "Not Andersen! That man is dead. It's Ralleigh now! Jehu Ralleigh! And I will have my revenge, I will," he whispered.

Asuka's golden-grey eyes softened.

"Oh, you poor thing. You poor thing," she whispered lovingly. Her eyes widened. "Wait! See! When they come for the little boy, I hid 'em. I thought, who knows? Maybe the poor silly blighter'll be back again someday and need 'em. Cracked in the head, wasn't I? Times as bad as they are, I could have got five, maybe ten quid for 'em, any day. See?" she whispered.

Johan's eyes widened at her final words.

"You can be a barber again."

Johan looked to the dusty stairs. "Indeed I can," he murmured. "But first..." he reached forward and ran his fingers across the dust. He looked at the dust on the tip of his finger. "I will need my shop back."

---

Me: Okay! Poor Johan! Having to find out that Judai is dead and that his son is now in the hands of the man who accused him of a false crime, and to make matters worse, he raped Judai!

Lucy: What will Johan do now? Will he end up getting his revenge on Viper or not? If you wish to find out, then review, and we shall update as soon as we can!

Me: Please review nicely on this and the other chapters, please! Thank you all!


	5. My Friends

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: This is the next chapter! I am hoping to get to chapter five by at least this evening, so you'll all have something to read! And I hope to see piles of reviews tomorrow xD

Lucy: So, please enjoy this chapter! It's a fairly short one! The next one will be longer!

Me: Please enjoy this chapter!

**_Chapter Four: My Friends_**

Asuka opened the door to the upper room and ushered Johan in. The fog around seemed to surround the building. It was starting to get light out. The room was dust and unkempt, having not been touched in over fifteen years, Johan imagined. The room held too many memories. Asuka looked over at him and smiled.

"Nothing to be scared of, dear," she said. She waved her hand, ushering him over. "Come along, come along."

Johan eyeballed Asuka as she went over to the floor board and ripped it up. Now that Johan thought, he and Asuka were old friends. She use to help Judai around the house. Johan wasn't really that close with her, but he knew her well enough. It wasn't a wonder that she wasn't shocked to see him when he arrived. She obviously knew him well enough.

Asuka reached into the open floor board and pulled out a box covered by a velvet cloth. She opened the box after removing the velvet, and Johan's eyes caught the glitter of silver.

"My! Them handles is chased silver, ain't they?" Asuka said, handing the box to Johan.

Johan's hands gingerly held the box in his hands. He reached down and brushed the tip of his thumb over the blade, careful not to cut himself. It was still as shiny and as sharp as he had left it.

Johan reached into the box and pulled out one of the razors. He opened it and felt the cool metal in his hand. It brought memories. Memories that made him upset and happy at the same time. Memories that seemed to flood his mind. The silver glittered in his green eyes, reflecting the deadliness of the blade he held.

"Silver, yes," he whispered softly.

**These are my friends.  
See how they glisten.  
See this one shine...  
How he smiles in the light.  
My friend.  
My faithful friend...  
Speak to me friend.  
Whisper...  
I'll listen.  
I know, I know you've been locked  
out of sight  
all these years, like me  
My friend...  
well I've come home to find you waiting.  
Home, and we're together!  
And we'll do wonders.  
Won't we?  
You there, my friend?**

Asuka walked up beside Johan and peered at the razor. The silver reflected in her eyes, but she did not seem as interested in it as Johan was. She looked from the blade to him.

[Asuka]  
**I'm your friend too, Mr. Ralleigh  
If you only understood that, Mr. Ralleigh**

**Poor Mr. Ralleigh  
You're cold in this place.  
You've come home!  
Always had a fondness for you, I did.**

Johan folded the razor and set it back in the box. He closed the box, hiding them from the growing light of the sun. He refused to lt his friends touch the light until they were needed.

[Johan]  
**Come let me hold you.  
Now, with a sigh, you grow warm in my hand.  
My friend!  
My clever friend...**

[Asuka]  
**Never you fear, Mr. Ralleigh  
You can move in here, Mr. Ralleigh**

**Mr. Ralleigh, splendors.  
You never have dreamed  
all your days  
will be yours!  
I'm your friend  
and you're mine!  
Don't they shine beautiful?  
Silver's good enough for me, Mr. R.**

[Johan]  
**Rest now, my friends.  
Soon, I'll unfold you.  
Soon you'll know splendors  
You never have dreamed  
all you days,  
my lucky friends  
'Til now your shine was merely silver.  
Friends, you shall drip rubies, you'll soon drip precious rubies...**

Johan looked over his shoulder and saw Asuka standing close to him. "Please leave me," he murmured. He saw Asuka nod briskly before turning on her heel and leaving him in the room he had once worked.

Johan reopened the case and pulled out a different razor. He flicked it open and held it towards the shining sun, which was now almost half way up in the sky. A large, almost demonic grin touched his lips. His eyes almost changed color, the light from the sun turning them a bright neon green, like Devil's fire.

"AT LAST!" Johan called loudly. "MY RIGHT ARM IS COMPLETE AGAIN!"

Asuka stood outside the door, her lips drawn into a thin line. She looked over her shoulder, though about opening the door, but decided not to. She sighed and walked downstairs, waiting for Johan to finish his moment before she took him into town. Some fresh air might do the poor man some good after what he had learned.

---

Me: All right! Johan has his razors back! His weapons!

Lucy: The next chapter will be longer than this one, so please have no worries! And someone we all think we known appears in the next chapter, so please look forward to that, guys!

Me: You know what I'm gonna say! I wanna see the reviews pile up tomorrow! Please be kind and review nicely!


	6. Green Finch and Linnet Bird

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: This is the next chapter, guys!

Lucy: Johan does not appear in this one! We take a break from Asuka and Johan and focus on Diana and Cecil, Johan's son! And the beggar man from chapter one makes another appearance!

Me: So please enjoy!

**_Chapter Five: Green Finch and Linnet Bird_**

Diana glanced up at the foreboding building before her. It was bigger than anything she had ever seen. It was the mansion of a lord, in the middle of town, looming above all other buildings like a large idol. It looked like all the haunted houses that Diana had heard about in the legends in her travels.

And there in the window, as lonely as any ghost, was the most lovely young man she had ever seen.

[Cecil]  
**Green finch, and linnet bird,  
Nightingale, blackbird,  
How is it you sing?  
How can you jubilate  
sitting in cages  
never taking wing?  
Outside the sky waits  
beckoning!  
Beckoning!  
Just beyond the bars...  
How can you remain  
staring at the rain  
maddened by the stars?  
How is it you sing  
anything?  
How is it you sing?  
Green finch. and linnet bird,  
nightingale, blackbird  
How is it you sing?**

The young man looked out the window and smiled at Diana. He placed his hand on the glass in front of him. Diana could see the loneliness in his eyes.

**Whence comes this melody  
constantly floating?  
Is it rejoicing or merely alarming?  
Are you discussing?  
Or fussing?  
Or simply dreaming?  
Are you crowing?  
Are you screaming?  
Ring-dove and robin  
is it for wages?  
Singing to be sold?  
Have you decided it's safer in cages  
singing when you're told?  
My cage has many rooms  
damask and dark...  
Nothing there sings,  
not even my lark.  
Larks never will, you know,  
when they're captive.  
Teach me to be more  
adaptive.  
Ah...  
Green Finch, and Linnet Bird,  
nightingale, blackbird,  
teach me how to sing.  
If I cannot fly...  
Let me sing.**

Diana saw him move away from the window, as if startled by something. Then, the young man vanished from view of the window, and the blinds closed from the inside.

Diana frowned and looked to the window, even if she couldn't see the boy.

[Diana]  
**I have sailed the world,  
beheld it's wonders,  
from the pearls of Spain  
to the rubies of Tibet...  
but not even in London!  
Have I seen such a wonder...  
Sir...  
Look at me!  
Look at me!  
Young lord, oh look at me!  
Please, oh  
Favour me!  
Favour me  
with your glance!  
Ah, sir.  
What do you?  
What do you  
See up there in those trees, oh  
won't you give  
won't you give me a chance!  
Who would sail to Spain  
For all it's wonders  
When in Kiri's Lane  
Lies the greatest wonder yet!  
Ah, sir**

**Look at you!  
Look at you,  
Pale and ivory skin!  
Oh, look at you  
Looking so sad, so queer.  
Promise not to retreat to the darkness,  
Back of your window  
Not 'til you  
Not 'til you look down here!  
Look at me!  
Look at me!**

She saw the blinds open again after a moment, and she saw the young man appear in the window again, looking to the sky. For a moment, Diana thought he would throw the window open and jump.

Diana smiled sadly at him.

[Cecil]  
**Green finch and linnet bird  
Nightingale, blackbird.  
Teach me how to sing!  
If I cannot fly...**

[Diana]  
**Look at me...**

[Cecil]  
**Let me sing...**

Before Diana or the young man could say anything, a shrill, cracked voice cried out from the foggy alley's.

"Alms, alms for a miserable man!" the same beggar from that morning came walking down the street, waving his hand back and forth in front of him, as before.

The beggar looked towards Diana, his nose and lips still visible through the hood, his eyes hidden by the shadows. A tiny smile caressed his cracked, tinted pink lips.

"Beg your pardon, it's you Ma'am..." he greeted with a slight bow.

Diana didn't feel angry towards him. She finished into her pocket and pulled out a small golden coin. When the beggar man passed, she dropped the little coin into his palm. The beggar's eyes seemed to glitter under the hood.

"Thank ya, thank ya kindly..." he trailed off softly.

He turned to move away, to continue on his way, but Diana stopped him.

"One moment, sir," she said, looking down at the beggar. He was a thin shred of a thing, brown hair falling in front of his face. His nose, lips, and chin were shown. He was weak, thin, and trembling. "Perhaps you know whose house this is?" Diana asked.

The beggar looked to the large mansion.

"That? That's the great Lord Viper's house, that is," he said, voice cracked and weak.

"And the young man who resides there?" Diana spoke softly. She tried to look into the beggar's eyes, but he made sure to keep his face tilted away from her sight, so she couldn't make out who he was.

"Oh him? That's Cecil, his pretty little ward..." he trailed off.

The beggar turned to Diana and wagged a weak finger at her. "But don't you go trespassin' there, young lady! Not if you value your hide! Tamper there, and it's a good whippin' for ya, or any other youth with mischief on their mind!" he warned.

As soon as he finished scolding Diana, the beggar turned on his heels and continued on his way towards the fog once again, holding the coins that he had received from Diana and Johan in his pocket.

[Beggar Man]  
**Hey hoy! Sailor girl!  
Want it snuggly harbored!  
Open the gate!  
But dock it straight!  
I see it lists a starboard!**

Diana heard his song die off as he gained distance, soon vanishing.

[Diana:]  
**I feel you,  
Cecil.  
I feel you.  
I was half-convinced I'd waken.  
Satisfied enough to dream you,  
Happily I was mistaken,  
Cecil.  
I'll steal you,  
Cecil,  
I'll steal you.**

Diana saw the figure move away from the window and vanish. Diana looked around and wondered where she should go next. A few minutes later, the front door swung open. Diana looked up, half hoping that it would be Cecil. Instead, it ws a tall, muscular man with sharp black hair, tan mocha skin, and narrow eyes. He was smiling, a way that creeped Diana out.

"Come in, my dear girl, come in," the man invited. Diana could not refuse such a kind invitation and moved towards the door. She stepped inside and looked around, hoping to see Cecil. She saw no sign of him.

"You said you were looking for the main park?" the man asked, not looking back.

"T-that's right," Diana murmured. "It's a little embarrassing. A girl of the sea losing her way like this."

"A girl of the sea," the man murmured. "How interesting."

Diana tensed at his tone. She knew that he knew she was a female sailor, moving back and forth across the oceans, traveling, but the man seemed uneasy and angry. Diana started to move back, when she thumped into something hard. She swiveled around and saw a short, fat, bald man standing behind her, beady eyes boring through her soul.

Diana swallowed the lump in her throat.

"One of the sea must know their way around the world," the man with black hair said. Diana heard the man behind her cracking his knuckles. She gulped and tried to think of a way to escape. "I have some things of value here... Have you ever seen them?"

"There must be a mistake," Diana whispered.

The raven-haired man turned on her. "Oh, there is no mistake. You were staring at my dear little ward, Cecil. You were gandering at him as if you were in love." His hand clenched the girl's tattered shirt and yanked her forward. "My Cecil is not to be gawked at in such a way by the likes of you!"

Diana tried to draw away. "I-I meant no harm. I-"

"Your intentions mean little to me, girl. Mark me. If you come 'round this street ever again, I'll end you the way I ended that other man who got in the way of what I wanted," the dark-haired man said.

The fat man picked up Diana and hurled her outside, onto the cobblestones. Diana felt her teeth rattling as she smashed into the ground. She looked up and saw the tall, dark-skinned man towering behind her.

"The main park is that way," he said. "Left, right, then straight on to the fountain. Understand?"

The man turned and vanished inside. The fat bald man stood above Diana and smirked down at her. The tip of his cane poked her chin and forced her to look up into his beady, ugly eyes.

"You heard Lord Viper, dearie," the man said, his voice holding a heavy French accent. "Next time, your brains will paint the pavement. No mercy on you just because you are a girl. Lord Viper does not care much for pretty young women."

The fat man gave a merry whistle as he vanished back into the mansion. The door closed with a click. Diana rose to her feet, her head pounding like a jackhammer.

She looked to the window and narrowed her eyes.

**Do they think that walls can hide you?  
Even now I'm at your window...  
I am in the dark beside you,  
Buried sweetly in your bronze hair!**

She leaned on the wall and clutched her wounded arm, a scrape on the upper part of it. She ignored the pain as best she could. She had been through a great deal worse.

**I feel you,  
Cecil!  
And one day,  
I'll steal you!  
'Til I'm with you then,  
I'm with you there...  
Sweetly buried in your bronze hair!**

She closed her grey eyes and turned, heading towards the main park. She had had enough abuse from the noblemen today. Best be on her way, lest she get Cecil in trouble as well.

---

Me: All right! So now, we learned that the beggar man knows a bit about what happened to Cecil! But how does our dear little beggar man know about all of this if he's half out of his mind, or so people say?

Lucy: So, what will happen in the next chapter? You shall all see what becomes of Johan and Asuka in the next chapter! Will it be a good thing or something horrible?

Me: Please review! We wanna see the pile up!


	7. The Miracle Elixir

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right! Now we are back to a chapter in which Johan is there!

Lucy: Like before, reviews! We like review piles! They are our friends! And we will update ASAP, we are just trying to get this story done as soon as we are able to, so please, be so kind as to give us lots of nice reviews!

Me: Please enjoy!

**_Chapter Six: The Miracle Elixir_**

"Why are we here, Miss Asuka?" Johan asked. Asuka sighed for what must have been the hundredth time that day. She led Johan towards the center of town, where people were gathering rapidly. She led him, holding onto his hand to keep him from rushing off. The blond was a little nervous about bringing Johan out this early after he found out about his husband and son.

"I already told ya," Asuka said. "The man who claimed your title as the top barber. His station is here."

Johan scoffed. "What's so great about 'im?"

"Says he's Italian. People'll do anything for an Italian barber now-a-days," the blonde said. She fixed the little hat on her head, which was loose because of the early winds.

As before, it was very foggy out, but the sun was starting to rise into the sky. It must have been about noon time. People were bustling in the streets, gathering in shops, or just trying to get home. The streets in London were always like this, even on cold, foggy days such as this one. It was like they had an unconscious need to journey into the town and shop, using money they did not have.

Johan looked around and reached for one of his razors, which was stationed at his belt.

Asuka saw him reaching for it and snapped down on his wrist. "Not so fast, Mr. Ralleigh!" she hissed. Johan turned and stared at her. "You'll get a chance to prove you're the best, but at least see this guy first, okay? Learn his tricks so you don't repeat."

Johan sighed and took his hands away from his razor.

Asuka took her head back, brushing it against the skirts of her dress.

"Honestly. Trying to whip those things out here like that. You'd have to be barking mad to think you could do that without motivation," she was more speaking to herself than Johan, so he ignored it.

When they finally stopped walking, they were in a small crowd of people standing before an elaborate stage. There were curtains on the back of it, and there were lights all around. The light sound of cirque music could be heard coming from behind the stage, to add effect. The curtains were old, but they were cared for, not in tatters like some other stages.

A young boy came out from the curtains, obviously not very cared for. He was thin, and his clothes were somewhat ragged. He wore a cap over his head, dull grey eyes peering out over the crowd.

[Martin]  
**Ladies and gentlemen,  
May I have your attention, please?  
Do you wake every morning in shame and despair,  
Discover your pillow is covered with hair?  
What ought not to be there?**

**Well, ladies and gentlemen,  
From now on you can waken at ease  
You may never again have a worry or care,  
I will show you a miracle, marvelous rare,  
Gentlemen you are about to see something what rose from the dead,  
On the top of my head!**

The crowd marveled and awed at the boy as he ripped the cap off, revealing white-blond hair, that was long and came to his shoulders. Johan heard Asuka scoff to herself.

"Obviously a wig," she spat in disgust.

Johan chuckled to himself and resumed watching the performance. He had to figure when would be the right time to come in and make himself known to everyone.

The boy smiled and came out with a bottle of something, having grabbed it from a small table in the back of the stage.

**'Twas Cronos's Miracle Elixir,  
That's what did the trick sir,  
True, sir, true,  
Was it quick, sir?  
Did it in a tick, sir?  
Just like an elixir ought to do.**

A few bald men stepped up to attempt the supposed product. Johan rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. He had to hand it to the boy, his persuasion had captured a few of the idiots in the crowd.

**How about a bottle mister?  
Only costs a penny, guaranteed.  
Does Cronos's stimulate the growth, sir?  
You can have my oath sir,  
'Tis unique.  
Rub a minute,  
Stimulatin' i'n' it?  
Soon you'll have to thin it once a week.**

When some of the people in the crowd took the bottle to check it out, Asuka took one. She looked at it, uncorked it, and turned to Johan. She handed it to the bluenette with uncertainty in his eyes.

Johan looked down at it and made a disgusted face. The stench from it was unbearable. He smiled to himself, knowing that his plan would work out perfectly now.

"Pardon me ma'am, what's that awful stench?" he asked, elbowing Asuka.

Asuka looked over with a slight confused look, but caught on rather quickly. "Are we standing near an open trench?" she asked, looking around in disgust, aiming her question towards a man standing near her.

"Must be standing near an open trench," Johan murmured to a woman in the crowd.

He almost keeled over laughing when the woman handed the bottle off to someone else instantly, a disgusted look plastered on her face. The bluenette saw a few others doing similar things, trying their hardest to get rid of the bottle before the scent wafted towards them.

The boy on the stage seemed to get desperate.

[Martin]  
**Try Cronos's Miracle Elixir,  
Anything what's slick, sir,  
Soon sprouts curls,  
Try Cronos's,  
When they see how thick, sir,  
You can have your pick, sir, of the girls!  
Want to buy a bottle missus?**

"What is this?" Johan called loudly, after taking another sniff of the bottle, instantly regretting it.

"What is this?" Asuka echoed to a man standing on her left.

"Smells like piss," Johan commented loudly, shoving the bottle towards Asuka. Asuka made sure to move the bottle towards the man on her left, who was now watching her with shock.

"Smells like - phew!" she capped the bottle and handed it back to Johan.

Johan took it and rolled his eyes, leaning towards the woman standing on his right. The woman looked almost horrified at the sight of the bottle, since she had heard such horrible things about it.

"Looks like piss," the bluenette said.

Asuka leaned over to another man in front of her, who seemed like he was going to try the contents of the bottle. "Wouldn't touch it if I was you, dear!" she said with a hearty grin.

The man gulped and capped the bottle.

Johan smiled to himself and decided to lay on his final line. "This is piss. Piss with ink.," he said, tossing the bottle behind himself, hearing the glass shatter against the ground.

The people behind him leaped back as the stuff sprayed onto the ground. Johan tried not to laugh as he heard them murmuring in disgust at the nasty liquid that had come from the shattered bottle.

The boy on stage cast a horrified look at the shattered bottle, and became truly desperate.

He looked back at the stage with fear. Johan watched the boy squirm and waited patiently, giving the boy a chance to retaliate back at them with anything he had.

[Martin]  
**Let Cronos's activate your roots, sir.**

"Keep it off your boots, sir, eats right through," Johan said to a man standing behind him.

The man dropped the bottle and leaped back as it sprayed.

[Martin]  
**Yes, get Cronos's!  
Use a bottle of it!  
Ladies seem to love it —**

"Flies do too!" Asuka shouted.

The crowd seemed to laugh at that one, and the boy became fearful. He was about to speak, when the curtains flew open behind him.

From the curtains came a tall man that would have been mistaken as a girl. He wore what appeared to be make-up, and his hair was long and blond, held in a ponytail above his head. He wore elaborate blue clothing, and his purple-blue eyes scanned over the crowd, like a hawk waiting for its prey.

_My opponent_, Johan thought with a silent, sadistic laugh.

[Cronos]  
**I am Signore Cronos,  
The king of the barber, the barber of kings,  
E buon giorno, good day,  
I blow you a kiss**

He did so, but aimed it at Asuka with a wink.

Asuka merely flipped him off and folded her arms across her chest, golden eyes narrowed. Cronos seemed to wave it off and returned his attention to the crowd.

[Cronos]  
**And I, the so-famous Cronos,  
I wish-a to know-a  
Who-a has the nerve-a to say  
That my Elixir is piss!**

_Here goes_, Johan thought. "I do!" he called, stepping up to the stage.

He heard the crowd murmuring in shock, but none of that seemed to matter. He had found his challenger. He had found the one that he could test his skills against.

He would reclaim his title as the top barber in London.

---

Me: All right! Johan is going to challenge this man and prove his reputation! Since he has a new name, and no one quite knows him at all yet, so he needs to gain a reputation. And beating the "top barber", will do it.

Lucy: So, what will happen in the next chapters?

Me: Review on the chapters and ye shall find out! Thank you, thank you to all who review!


	8. The Contest

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right, since you have all been so good to me, this is the next chapter!

Lucy: Please give us a nice review pile up, because we would like to have lots and lots of reviews on this story! We believe it is pretty good, so we look forward to it!

Me: So please enjoy this story, and this chapter!

**_Chapter Seven: The Contest_**

Johan bowed to the man once he reached the stage. "Signore Cronos, I am Mr. Jehu Ralleigh, and I have serviced no kings, yet I'll wager I can shave a cheek and pull a tooth with ten times more dexterity than any street mountebank!" Johan spat.

"You see these razors?" Johan pulled out the razors from his pockets. The crowd oohed and awed at the silver blades. "I lay them against five pounds you are no match for me, my good man."

Cronos scoffed. "You hear zis foolish man? Watch and see how he will regret his folly," he addressed the crowd.

_Keep laughing_, Johan thought bitterly. He turned towards the crowd and spotted the Beadle Napoleon, Lord Viper's own "yes-man", standing in the front row.

A dark smile touched Johan's lips.

_Perfect_.

"Will the noble, Beadle Napoleon, be the judge?" he asked, waving his hand to the Beadle.

Napoleon seemed a little shocked at the invitation to judge such an event. He struggled onto the stage with his tremendous weight, and waddled his way in between the two barbers.

"Moi? Glad, as always, to oblige my friends and neighbors," he said, taking a small bow.

Johan and Cronos called up two people on the stage who looked like they needed a shave or two. The two men came up, one going to Cronos, the other going to Johan.

Once the two men were set up, they raised their razors and turned towards each other, as was custom. Napoleon took his place in between the two chairs and looked to see if they were ready. Johan kept a vacant, almost bored expression, while Cronos death-glared the bluenette, with that cocky attitude of his.

"Ready," Cronos spat.

"Ready," Johan said in a rather bored tone. He found his nails more interesting than the Italian barber was. This almost drove Cronos to insanity, but when Napoleon gave the signal, they began.

[Cronos]  
**To shave-a da face,  
To pull-a da toot',  
Require da grace  
And not-a da brute,  
For if-a you slip,  
You nick-a da skin,  
You clip-a da chin,  
You rip-a da lip a bit  
And dat's-a da trut'!**

Cronos stole a glance at Johan, who was busy at work, not even fazed by it. The Italian barber snarled and tried to work as fast as he could, wanting more than anything to catch up to Johan.

**To shave-a da face  
Or even a part,  
Widout it-a smart  
Require da heart.  
It take-a da art.  
I show you a chart  
I study-a starting in my yout'!**

**To cut-a da hair,  
To trim-a da bear,  
To make-a da bristle  
Clean like a whistle.  
Dis is from early infancy  
Da talent give to me  
By God!**

"Oy vey," Johan rolled his eyes and muttered silently. The song was just getting annoying now.

He looked down at his customer and flashed him a smile. The customer settled down and seemed to relax, while Cronos's customer seemed a bit scared at the way the man working on him was moving his razors around so violently and quick.

**It take-a da skill,  
It take-a da brains,  
It take-a da will  
To take-a da pains,  
It take-a da pace,  
It take-a da grace--**

"The winner is Ralleigh," Napoleon said. Cronos stopped working and glanced over to see Johan standing with his customer smiling and happy, no traces of facial-hair ever existing.

Johan had his arms folded across his chest, the two silver razors set back in their place on his belt after he had cleaned them off.

Cronos narrowed his eyes. He seemed to deflate in utter shock at his defeat as Asuka walked up. Asuka threw her arm around Johan's shoulders, smiling brightly.

"Nice work, dear," she said, sticking her tongue out at Cronos.

Cronos bowed, a bit flustered. "I bow to your superior skills, Mr. Ralleigh. Though I must say, your skills do remind me of one another barber, who was here long ago," he said.

"And who, pray tell, would that be?" Johan asked in a rather bored tone.

Cronos leaned forward with a smirk on his lips. Johan didn't like the look that the Italian barber was giving him. It sent frozen chills up and down his spine.

"Johan Andersen."

The crowd seemed to fall deathly silent at the name. Johan's emerald eyes widened slightly, his arms falling limp to his sides. Napoleon stiffened at the name of the man he had assisted in locking away on a false charge, just so Lord Viper could get to the man's beloved husband and son. The crowd muttered amongst themselves, speaking of the barber they use to know, no one realizing that "Jehu Ralleigh" was truly Johan Andersen, their old top barber.

"Never hear of him before in my life," Johan scoffed. He folded his arms across his chest. "But I bet he was a rookie compared to me." Johan almost laughed at the irony of the situation.

Cronos smiled coldly. "May the good Lord shine on you, my dear man," he muttered. He turned towards his assistant. "Come along, boy."

"Are we pulling out?" the boy asked.

Cronos glared and smacked the boy hard across the face. The boy almost collapsed. "Yes, we are moving out," he spat. "Get moving." He pushed the boy behind the curtains and went with him.

Once they were gone, Napoleon walked up towards Johan and Asuka, who still had not left the stage.

"Mr. Ralleigh, do you have an establishment of your own?" he asked.

"Indeed he does," Asuka said. She wrapped both arms around Johan and drew him close, laying her head on his shoulder. "It's right above my pie shop on Academy Street, actually."

Johan bowed his head slowly.

"I thank you for judging this little... _contest_, Beadle, sir," he said. He tried not to show his disgust and hatred at acting so kind to a man that had helped ruin his life.

"Thank," Napoleon said. "I always try and assist those less fortunate than myself. You said your place was on Academy Street?"

"_I _said it, and yes," Asuka snapped.

Napoleon chuckled and said something about "women and their tempers". Johan had to literally hold Asuka by the waist so that she wouldn't leap at him and kill him. Napoleon turned to Johan.

"Well, Mr. Ralleigh, you will certainly see me there before the week is out," he commented.

"You will be welcome," Johan said. A smile spread across his lips, this time in earnest. "And I can guarantee without a penny's charge, it will be the closest shave you ever got."

Asuka quickly led the bluenette away from the Beadle.

She locked arms with him and led him down the street back towards the pie shop/barber shop. Once they were certain that they were away from Napoleon, she heaved a huge sigh.

"Ohh, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Asuka thwacked Johan hard on the back of the head. "What were you thinking?! You looked like you were about to cleave the poor man right then and there!"

"Poor? Him?" Johan murmured. A dry laugh escaped his throat. "How ironic that statement is."

Asuka sighed.

"Yes, well, that's all and good, then, that you could keep your revenge down in public. Now," she slipped her hands around his waist. "Let's just get you home so you can prepare. I'll get you some gin so you can calm down after that."

Johan just nodded and said nothing the rest of the way.

---

Me: Sorry for such a short chapter, but the next one will be longer, please have no doubts about that one, guys! The next chapter is a very important one!

Lucy: So here it goes, and please enjoy the next one! And please review, because we like having at least 2 reviews on each of our chapters, so if you have not reviewed, then please do so, so that we have at least 2 (or more) reviews on each chappie!

Me: Please review and we will update ASAP! Review pile-up!


	9. Wait

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right! This is the next chapter!

Lucy: This is a long one, and this is kinda the taking off point, in which Johan kinda goes "loco in the head". So, if you want to see a some-what insane Johan, then this is your chapter!

Me: So please enjoy, and please review for us on the other chapters!

**_Chapter Eight: Wait_**

Humming a tune to himself, Cecil looked out his window. He was scribbling down letters that he could never send to his "mother", the mother who had supposedly committed suicide after the Lord who had taken Cecil into his care did unspeakable things to him.

Cecil would always hate Lord Viper for what he did to his family. Cecil wasn't stupid, he remembered the day his father was torn away from him, the day his "mother" started crying and almost losing his mind. Cecil remembered when his "mother" drank poison, but survived. That was at least thirteen years ago, when Cecil had been three years old.

The brunette with teal streaks folded his letter and stuffed it into his bottom drawer. He kept all of his letters to his "mother" there. He did it just in case his "mother" had truly died.

If that be the case, then maybe he would come and take the letters as Cecil slept.

On the other side of the room, Cecil knew that there was a peephole in the wallpaper, where his guardian was always watching, unless he was out or away.

The brunette glanced over and noticed that his guardian was not there anymore. He must have been away.

Cecil looked out the window and spotted the same black-haired girl from before standing below his tall window. Cecil smiled and fished out the key to his room from his pocket.

Taking one look back at the peep-hole, he opened the window and dropped the key below to the girl.

As soon as he knew she had caught it, he slammed the window closed and returned to his letter-writing, while the girl dashed off, in case the boy's guardian, the Lord Viper, came back.

--

"Where is he?" Johan was pacing back and forth like a caged animal. Asuka urged him to sit in the chair that she had brought up to him. Johan refused and just paced back and forth over and over again.

Asuka sighed and brushed her fingers across the chair.

"Not much of a chair, I realize, but Judai picked it out a long time ago, when you two were married, and gave it to me as a birthday gift," she murmured lovingly at the memory.

The blond looked over and saw Johan tense at the mention of his husband's name.

Asuka looked around the room.

It was a dusty room with dusty old shelves, and the windows looked like they were almost cracked. Very old. It needed to be cleaned and spruced up badly.

"Kinda bare, isn't it? I never did like a bare room. Oh, well, we'll find some nice little knickknacks," the blond young woman said with a smile. Johan slammed his hand against the wall and leaned his head against it.

"Why doesn't the Noble come? "'Before the week is out,' that's what he said," the barber snarled.

Asuka stood up and came up behind him, peering out the window. She could see the people walking. "And who says the week's out yet? It's only Tuesday," she said.

Asuka smiled and wrapped her arms around Johan's waist, holding in a backwards hug.

**Easy now.  
Hush, love, hush.  
Don't distress yourself,  
What's your rush?  
Keep your thoughts  
Nice and lush.  
Wait.**

**Hush, love, hush.  
Think it through.  
Once it bubbles,  
Then what's to do?  
Watch it close.  
Let it brew.  
Wait.**

Asuka slightly pulled away from the bluenette and smiled at him.

Her eyes darted to the shelves around the room, filled with dust and old memories that she knew must have been both nice and painful for Johan to remember.

**I've been thinking, flowers--  
Maybe daisies--  
To brighten up the room.  
Don't you think some flowers,  
Pretty daisies,  
Might relieve the gloom?  
Ah, wait, love, wait.**

Johan snapped one of his razors out and stared at it. He couldn't feel Asuka's arms around his waist, nor did he really care. He just kept looking at his reflection in the razors.

"And the lord? When will I get to him?" he murmured.

Asuka sighed and stepped back, hands on her hips. "Can't you think of nothing else? Always broodin' away on yer wrongs what happened heaven knows how many years ago!"

She saw Johan tense and frown. She walked forward and wrapped her arms back around his waist, drawing him close. She placed her head on his shoulder.

**Slow, love, slow.  
Time's so fast.  
Now goes quickly--  
See, now it's past!  
Soon will come.  
Soon will last.  
Wait.**

**Don't you know,  
Silly man,  
Half the fun is to  
Plan the plan?  
All good things come to  
Those who can  
Wait.**

Asuka was content when she saw her old friend smile softly, calming down.

She finally let him go and returned to her thoughts about the room, about making it brighter. She wanted to do that so she could eliminate the bad memories Johan gained from this room.

**Gillyflowers, maybe,  
'stead of daisies.  
I don't know, though.  
What do you think?**

"Yes," Johan whispered softly.

"Gillyflowers, I'd say. Nothing like a nice bowl of gillies..." Asuka trailed off and looked out the window. "Look. There's a little girl out there," she pointed to her.

Johan glanced down, but he couldn't see the girl.

The door burst open a moment later, and in rushed Diana. "Mr. Ralleigh! Thank God I found you" she called. Her grey eyes darted over to Asuka, and she curtsied politely to the older woman. "Oh, please pardon me for the intrusion, Miss... uh..."

"Miss Asuka Tenjoin, dear," the blond curtsied as well with a smile. "An old friend of Mr. Ralleigh's."

"A pleasure it is, Miss Tenjoin," Diana said with a polite nod. She turned her attention to Johan. "Mr. Ralleigh, please, there's a boy, you see, who needs my help-" she seemed to get lost in her own thoughts. "-such a lovely and sad boy he is. He's such a sweet young man. He does not deserve such a cruel fate."

"Slow down, Diana," Johan spoke softly. "What's happened?"

Diana took a few deep breaths.

"H-he's kept in such a horrible place, Mr. Ralleigh! Trapped by his guardian- a tyrant, he is! But this morning, he tossed me this," Diana showed the small key. "It's a sign that Cecil wants me to help him! Oh, that's his name. Cecil. Isn't it lovely? And her guardian, Viper, he's a lord, apparently. When he leaves today to go to the courts, I shall sneak in a steal away Cecil."

Asuka clapped her hands together.

"Oh how terribly romantic, my dear," she gushed with a tinkling laugh.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Diana whispered. "I-I was just wondering if I could hide him here, just for a short while, long enough to get a boat to take us out of here, away from Viper."

Asuka glanced over and saw Johan tense. A smile seemed to creep across his face. Asuka gulped and turned to Diana with a polite and charming smile.

"Bring him here, dear," she said.

Diana nodded her thanks and turned to Johan. "...Mr. Ralleigh?"

"Bring the boy," the bluenette whispered, giving Diana an approving nod.

"Thank you, my old friend! Thank you!" Diana said. She turned and rushed from the room as quickly as she could, to wait to save Cecil. Johan sunk into the chair with a heavy sigh. Asuka was instantly by his side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She laid her head on his shoulder, right against his neck.

"The fates are being kind to you, Mr. R," she whispered. Johan grunted softly as a reply. "What's wrong?" Asuka drew back and frowned at the man's depressed face. "You'll get to hold your little boy again."

"Yes," Johan whispered. "But I won't ever hold Judai in my arms again."

A sympathetic look crossed the blond's face. She wrapped her arms around him tighter and just held him. She whispered "poor thing" a few times to him over and over. She truly felt sorry for him. Would holding his son bring back pained memories of his late husband? Asuka wanted him to forget those painful times.

Johan rose to his feet and moved towards the window.

"Perhaps we shall go with them. Then I can be with my little boy once again. I just wish Judai was here with me. Then maybe there wouldn't be this huge hole in my heart," the bluenette breathed.

Asuka saw his reach up and place his hand over his heart. She frowned and took her place beside him, looking out the window. She was about to speak again, when Johan looked down to the streets, face a mask of confusion.

"What the Hell..." he trailed off softly. Asuka looked down and saw Cronos walking towards their shop from the fog, his ragged little assistant in tow behind him.

"Look at that face," Asuka tisked, shaking her head. "He's up to no good."

"Keep the boy downstairs with you," Johan ordered softly. Asuka nodded and turned downstairs, preparing for her 'guests'.

--

When Asuka reached the bottom of the stairs, at the door to her pie shop, the two unwanted guests had already arrived. Cronos was smiling charmingly, and Asuka forced a tiny smile.

"Greetings, Signora. Is Mr. Ralleigh at home?" Cronos asked.

"Indeed he is," Asuka responded. Her eyes shifted to the small boy. "Oh, you little thing, you. Looks like you haven't had a compliment thrown at ya in ages," she cooed in a motherly voice.

The small boy merely bowed his head slowly, his grey eyes untrusting and doubtful. Asuka gave him the smallest wink she could manage, so that Cronos wouldn't see it.

"Do you mind if I give him a meat pie while you speak to Mr. Ralleigh?" Asuka asked.

"Do as you will," Cronos responded. Though he was trying to act charming, he seemed impatient. Asuka stepped aside calmly, allowing Cronos to push past her and head up the stairs. She turned and smiled to the small boy.

"I hope you have strong teeth."

Asuka sat him down and put a pie in front of him. He devoured it as though he hadn't eaten anything in his life before. Asuka giggled softly and got another few pies ready for him.

"That's my boy," she murmured, ruffling his white-blond hair. "Tuck in. Reminds me of an old friend of mine. He was like you, not picky at all."

--

"Mr. Ralleigh," Cronos sat on a large chest in the room upstairs. He flashed the bluenette a warm smile, but Johan didn't trust it. He just narrowed his eyes angrily.

"Signor Cronos," he muttered, watching his unwelcome guest coolly.

"Oh, don't throw that polite shit to me," Cronos snapped bitterly. He looked around the dusty room. "I'll be sharing half your earnings from now on, unless you want me to go running to Beadle Napoleon."

Cronos looked over to the bluenette, lips drawn into a sadistic smirk.

"Mr. Johan Andersen."

Johan's heart seemed to stop beating in his chest. He stood stone cold as Cronos rose to his feet and walked around the dusty old room, eyes wandering the walls with old memories hidden within them.

"Yes, this place will do nice," the blond man murmured. He looked back to Johan. "You don't remember me, do you? Well, why should you? You hired me when I first came here, and made me into a cleaner. I swept up hair around the chair, I swept the outside. I remember you all too well, Mr. Andersen. But, it doesn't bother me that you don't recall me."

Cronos picked up one of the razors and flicked it open. "Ah, I remember these, I do," he whispered. He closed the razor and set it down. "I heard about what happened to ya, Mr. Andersen. I also heard about what became of your beloved Judai."

Johan's heart beat faster, and his breath hitched. He gave a choked noise at the mention of Judai's name.

"Tch," Cronos snapped. "I remember him. Such an idiot he was. Always happy, always smiling, always so kind. God, he was so trusting of everyone and everything around him. That fool."

Johan felt his nails digging into his palms, drawing blood. His teeth were grit, pupils narrowing.

"Huh. He deserved to be raped. Serves that trusting whore right."

Johan's heart was thundering. Rage filled his vision. His breaths were ragged, his shoulders shaking, and yet Cronos didn't seem to notice how pissed off he was making the bluenette. He walked towards Johan and stood behind him. Johan looked up and saw a dusty tea kettle boiling water on the heater. How he had missed it, he'd never known.

"So, do we have a deal?" Cronos asked. He leaned down and stood behind Johan, whispering in his ear. "Or do I need to go and fetch the Beadle and tell him you have broken from jail?" A smile touched his lips.

"Mr. Johan Ander-"

Before Cronos could continue his sentence, Johan grabbed the burning tea kettle, turned, and smashed it hard across Cronos's face. The Italian man shrieked and thumped back. Johan smashed the kettle over his head, then under his chin, repeatedly, smashing the huge piece of iron against the man's head. Cronos was spitting up blood.

The blond man finally tumbled to the ground with a heavy thud, laying in a small puddle of blood that pooled around his lips.

--

Downstairs, Asuka glanced up at the sound of a thump, and then a heavy thud that sounded like iron hitting the ground. She looked over and saw that the boy didn't seem to notice, so she ignored it and went back to watching him eat.

--

Johan panted heavily and let the tea kettle slid to the ground with a heavy, iron thump. His chest heaved up and down, and he turned and slid into the chair Asuka had given him.

"My Judai-" he panted, glaring at Cronos's body. "-is not a whore!"

Johan laid his head back and just breathed heavily, trying to calm down as best he could. His chest was heavy, his heart racing, and he felt like he was going to go weak kneed at this rate.

--

"So," Asuka murmured.

"Yes, Ma'am?" the boy glanced up from his meat-pie and looked at her.

"Just Miss Asuka, okay?" the blond woman asked with a wink. The boy nodded with a smile. "What's your name?"

"Martin, Miss," the boy, Martin, told her. Asuka nodded and let him go back to eating his pie. Martin munched on the pie, and removed the wig he wore on his head, muttering about how itchy it got. Asuka chuckled to herself, knowing that she had been right about the wig. Martin looked down at his wrist, where a tiny clock was, and gasped.

"Ah!" he gasped, dropping the meat pie. "Signor is going to be late for his appointment!"

He dashed to his feet and rushed towards the stairs. Asuka gasped and reached for him, calling for him to wait and come back. The door slammed, the bell jingled, and Asuka sighed.

--

"Signor!" Martin pushed the door open, feeling uneasy about it. He glanced around and couldn't see his master anywhere. He looked around the empty room in shock. "Signor!?"

He looked over and saw Johan sitting in his chair, pouring himself something to drink.

"Signor Cronos has been called away," the bluenette murmured. He took a sip of his drink and set it down. "Better go run after him."

"Oh no, sir..." Martin looked around and sat on the giant chest near the back corner of the small room. "I better wait here, or there'll be a lashing. He's a big one for the lashings," he said, not noticing the pale white hand hanging from the mouth of the slammed closed chest. Johan thanked his good fortune for that.

Johan rose up and folded his arms across his chest with a smug smile.

"Miss Asuka give you a meat pie, did she?" he asked. Martin seemed to smile warmly at the memory of the food.

"Aye," he said. "She's a real lady, she is."

Johan chuckled warmly. "Aye," he murmured softly. "That she is." Johan looked to the chest, his eyes widening in horror as he saw one of Cronos's fingers twitching slightly.

He thought his eyes must be playing tricks, but then he saw another finger move slightly, then another. Johan realized that it was only a matter of time before the boy noticed the hand hanging from the chest. He couldn't risk keeping the boy there any longer. He had to get him out before the boy saw the body.

"Hey," Johan spoke up. "Why not go downstairs and have another pie while you wait? A growing boy probably has room for more pie, am I not correct?"

"Oh no, sir," Martin shook his head. "I better wait here."

Johan glanced down and saw the hand twitching a bit more. His heart was racing in terror. Fear was building. The boy was going to see. He was going to be exposed.

"Tell you what!" Johan said, touching the boy's shoulder. "Go downstairs and tell Miss Asuka that I said to give you a big tot of gin, eh?"

Martin's grey eyes lit up.

"Really!?" he squeaked. Johan nodded with a smile. "Thank you, sir! Thank you!" With that, Martin turned away and rushed down the stairs back to the pie shop for his gin.

Johan looked at the slightly twitching pale hand and took a step towards it.

"You still alive in there?" he called.

He got no response, as he imagined he wouldn't. He walked over to the chest, unlocked it, and popped it open, taking a big step backwards. A hand came up and pulled a weak body up, eyes disfocused, unaware of the danger that he was in. Johan's eyes were wild with anger and rage. This man needed to die!

Johan grabbed the man by the hair and tilted his head back.

He pressed the blade of a razor under the man's chin and ripped it slowly across his throat. Cronos's eyes widened as the blood sprayed from his throat, onto Johan's white sleeve and blade. He gagged a bit, his neck arching back, but it didn't last long before he collapsed forward, dead as a door nail.

Johan pulled the razor away, pushed the body fully into the chest, and snapped it closed. He turned and started wiping his razor on a rag, not even noticing the blood that was smeared on his face and sleeve.

---

Me: Oh my God! Johan killed someone! He actually just murdered Cronos! Though the man did kind of deserve it. He told Johan that Judai deserved to be raped and such...

Lucy: I feel no pity for him!

Me: Anyway, please review, and we shall update ASAP!


	10. Boys in Their Sensitivities

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: This is the next chapter! Kinda of short, but the next one will be just a bit longer, and then the one after that is going to be my favorite chapter of all of them! xD

Lucy: So we hope you all will like these chapters as we update them!

Me: So please enjoy this story, guys!

**_Chapter Nine: Boys in Their Sensitivities_**

"Walk with me," Lord Viper said as he walked through town with Beadle Napoleon by his side. "I have news for you, my friend. In order to shield him from the evils of this world I have decided to marry my dear Cecil."

Napoleon flashed the man a congratulating grin.

"Oh, sir, happy news indeed!" he said, clapping his fat hands together over and over. He was an idiot who would do anything or say anything to please his lord and keep his title.

"Strange, though," Viper said, rubbing his finger over his chin in thought. "When I offered myself to him, he showed a certain... reluctance." The raven-haired lord looked to his Beadle with a questioning expression, as if looking for the answer on why Cecil had show reluctance when Viper had proposed to him.

Napoleon smiled and proposed an idea to the lord.

[Napoleon]  
**Excuse me my lord may I request my lord permission my lord to speak  
Forgive me if I suggest my lord you're looking less than your best my lord  
There's powder upon your vest my lord and stubble upon your cheek  
And young gentlemen, my lord, are weak**

"Stubble, you say?" Viper ran his hand over his chin with a frown. "Perhaps I am a little over-hasty in the mornings," he said with a small frown on his dark-colored lips.

[Napoleon]  
**Fret not though my lord I know a place my lord  
a barber my lord of skill  
Thus art with a shaven face my lord  
Some eau de cologne to place my lord  
And to enhance the chase my lord  
You'll dazzle the boy until...**

"Until?" Viper asked.

"He bows to your every will," Napoleon said with a wink.

Viper 'hmm'ed at the thought of such a thing happening. He looked to the Beadle with narrow eyes, scanning his face for any type of lies that he might be trying to pull. When he saw none, he stood straight.

"A barber? Take me to him," he ordered at once.

--

Asuka poured the boy his second cup of gin, which the boy eagerly chugged down. The blond woman sighed as he gulped down another pie, took a big sip, and then pigged out on another pie.

"Ought to slow down, dear," Asuka warned. "Gonna go right to your head."

"Oh, I'll be all right," Martin assured her.

Asuka stood and brushed dirt off her skirts. "I'm gonna go upstairs and check on Mr. Ralleigh," she said. She gave the boy a worried look. "You will be all right on your own?" she asked.

"Leave the bottle?" Martin asked.

"Aye, lad," Asuka murmured, turning and walking up the stairs. She came into the room where Johan was, and she saw him still cleaning one of his blades. Asuka brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "God, he's drinking me out of house and home. How long until Signor Cronos comes back to get him?"

"He's not coming back," Johan said absent-mindedly.

Asuka gave him a confused gaze. "What do you mean he's not coming-" Her eyes widened when she saw the blood on his sleeve. "Oh my..." She looked at the chest and rushed to it.

She opened the chest, gasped when she saw the crunched body of the Italian barber on the bottom, and slammed it down with a thud, glancing wide-eyed over at Johan.

"You're barking mad!" she squeaked, heart racing in her partially revealed chest. "Killing a man what done you no harm!"

"He recognized me from the old days," Johan murmured, looking at his reflection in his blade. "Half me earnings. He called Judai a whore. I could not let him keep living with that."

Asuka's face seemed to calm.

"Oh," she said. "Well, that's a different matter entirely. For a moment I thought you lost your marbles." She opened the case again. "Ugh. Look at all that blood. Poor bugger. Ah, well."

Asuka reached into his pocket and fished out his money purse She snapped it open, fished through, and then opened her dress and stuck the purse into her cleavage.

"Waste not, want not," she told Johan. "What about the little boy?"

"Send him up," Johan said.

Asuka's eyes seemed to widen. "Ah, M-Mr. Ralleigh. M-maybe he can stay and help me in the shop? Maybe?" she asked, her eyes pleading. The bluenette looked at her with a vacant expression.

"Do what you will," he murmured.

"Better stock up on the gin," Asuka joked. Johan sucked in a breath as he looked out the window. Asuka looked down and saw Lord Viper heading towards their shop. She nodded to Johan, kissed his cheek, and then rushed downstairs so she could stall the man enough for Johan to change his bloody shirt.

---

Me: All right! So, Johan might get his chance to get his revenge on Viper, after all! But will he?

Lucy: If you would all like to find out what Johan does, then please read the next chapter as soon as I am able to update it! So please enjoy this story as it goes on, guys!

Me: Please, please, please review it!


	11. Pretty Men

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: The next chapter is up and a-running!

Lucy: Johan is getting his chance to get revenge on the man who ruined his life and took Cecil, raped Judai, and made Judai want to go and commit suicide!

Me: Claim revenge Johan! Here it begins!

**_Chapter Ten: Pretty Men_**

Johan watched the door as Viper stalked in moments later. The large lord looked around the shop with slight interest, seeming to mutter something under his breath, turning to face Johan.

"Greetings, my Lord," Johan said with a small bow.

"You know of me?" Viper asked.

"Who here does not know of the great Lord Viper?" Johan asked. He saw Viper smile cockily. "What can I do for you today sir? A stylish trimming of the hair? Soothing skin massage? Sit sir. Sit," Johan pointed to his chair.

Viper sat down in the chair.

[Viper]  
**You see, sir, a man infatuated with love.  
His ardent and eager slave.  
So fetch the pomade and pumice stone  
And lend me a more seductive tone  
A sprinkling perhaps of French cologne  
But first sir I think a shave.**

"The closest I ever gave," Johan reassured, whistling a tune to himself.

Viper glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow. He hadn't seen this man, but it almost seemed that he was not the sort of man to be in such a merry mood such as this.

"In a merry mood today Mr. Ralleigh?" he asked.

Johan glanced over, but said nothing as he returned to preparing, throwing a sheet over the man. He reached for his razor after setting the man up for the business he would conduct.

_Best to look good in death_, Johan thought bitterly. He hid his disgust with a smile.

[Johan]  
**'Tis your delight sir catching fire from one man to the next.**

[Viper]  
**'Tis true sir love can still inspire the blood to pound, the heart leap higher. What more**

[Johan]  
**What more?**

[Both]  
**Can man require**

[Viper]  
**Than love, sir**

[Johan]  
**More than love, sir**

Johan took a pause and brushed some hair out of his face.

Viper looked towards him with a questioning look. He still recalled the comment that Johan had made merely a moment ago, though Johan looked as if he didn't seem to notice he had said anything.

[Viper]  
**What, sir?**

[Johan]  
**Young men**

A smile touched Johan's lips, fooling the man with his false hospitalities. The lord fell into his web. The lord was eating his lies up like the richest caviar, and it was working.

[Viper]  
**Ah yes young men**

[Johan]  
**Pretty little men**

**Now then my friend.  
Now to your purpose.  
Patience. Enjoy it.  
Revenge can't be taken in haste.**

[Viper]  
**Make haste, and if we wed, you'll be commended, sir**

"My lord," Johan said, stopping his work on the man, setting the razors down, cleaning them off and looking at him. "And who may it be said is your intended sir?" he asked.

Viper flashed him a gloating smile.

"My ward," he said. Johan's eyes widened slightly, but this went unnoticed by the love-struck lord. "And pretty as a rose bud," the lord commented, more to himself than to Johan.

Johan clenched his hand around the razor. "Pretty as his '_mother_'?" he murmured.

"Hm?" Viper looked over to Johan with a questionable arched brown. He could have sworn the barber said something. "What was that?" he coaxed for Johan to repeat.

"Nothing sir. Nothing," Johan reassured, pressing the razor back and performing his work.

He wanted to finish this job, then he would kill him. Like he had thought before, better to look good in death. Plus, it gave Johan a chance to get the man to slip even further into his lies.

[Johan]  
**Pretty little men  
Fascinating...  
Sipping coffee,  
Dancing...  
Pretty men  
Are a wonder.  
Pretty little men,**

**Sitting in the window or  
Standing on the stair  
Something in them chills the air.  
Pretty men**

[Viper]  
**Silhouetted...**

[Johan]  
**Stay within you,**

The memory of Judai. The memory of the man that he loved filled his mind. Johan clenched his fist around the handle of the razor, but continued on with his work. He had to.

[Viper]  
**Glancing...**

[Johan]  
**Stay forever,**

[Viper]  
**Breathing lightly...**

[Johan]  
**Pretty little men,**

Johan pressed the razor slightly harder against the man's throat, but Viper didn't seem to notice. Johan knew that it was not time yet, he had not finished with his job. He was almost there, though.

[Both (together and alternating)]  
**Pretty little men!**

**Blowing out their candles or  
Combing out their hair,  
Combing out their hair then they leave  
Even when they leave you and vanish they somehow can still can remain there with you  
Even when they leave  
They still are there.  
They're there  
Ah! Pretty little men,**

[Johan]  
**At their mirrors,**

[Viper]  
**In their gardens,**

[Johan]  
**Letter-writing,**

[Viper]  
**Flower-picking,**

[Johan]  
**Weather-watching.**

His hand was starting to shake. Memories of Judai and his dear young son filled his mind. It was enough to drive him mad.

_Do it! Do it now_! His thoughts cried, but Johan would not. It wasn't time. He had one last place to swipe his blade, one last place to cut the facial hair off off before he could run his blade through the man's bare neck.

[Both]  
**How they make a man sing!  
Proof of heaven as you're living,  
Pretty little men! Sir, pretty little men!  
Yes pretty men,  
Pretty little men,  
Pretty little men,  
Pretty men**

Johan turned the blade as he started to swipe the last bit of lather from the man's face. This was it. He would move the blade to cut off the small amount of facial hair, then jerk it hard across the man's face. It would work that way. He could kill this man.

_Remember what he did to your family! To Cecil. To you. To Judai_! Johan's conscience seemed to scream.

Anger filled blazing emerald eyes. He twisted the blade at the ready, setting it down, ready to cut into the flesh of the man who had ruined his love, his family, his reason, his life...

The blade swung-

"Mr. Ralleigh!" Diana cried as she came rushing into the room. Johan's hand stopped immediately. "I have spoken with Cecil, and he has agreed to come and escape with me..."

Diana's eyes widened as she saw the man sitting in the chair. Viper death-glared her, stood, ripped the sheet from around himself, wiped the remainder of the stuff from his face, and advanced on the young girl.

"You!" he snarled. "There is indeed a higher power, who has warned me ahead of time." He advanced on the girl a bit quicker, who backed against the wall, teeth chattering. "Cecil, elope with you? Ha! That deceiving little whore. I'll have him locked somewhere where neither you, nor any other fool shall ever lay eyes on him again!" He turned, venom in his actions, to Johan. "As for you, barber, it's all too clear the type of company you keep. Service them well and keep their custom, for you shall have none of mine!"

He stalked out of the room, slamming the door, and leaving Diana and Johan alone.

Johan's eyes were wide.

His heart racing.

_I_...

His heart was pounding so fast that he thought it would burst free from his rib cage. He thought of Judai, his beloved husband who was raped and committed suicide because of Viper. He thought of Cecil, who would now suffer a fate of being locked away and forced to be married to such a monstrous man. He thought of the chance he had. Gone.

_Failed..._

---

Me: NOO! Johan lost his chance!

Lucy: The next chapter is going to be Johan's freak out, and it's also going to have my favorite song from the whole Sweeney Todd movie ever, so please look forward to that, guys!

Me: Please enjoy the next chapter, and please, please review xD


	12. Epiphany

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right! The next chapter, the next chapter is up!

Lucy: Johan lost his chance to kill Viper! How will he take it now that he may never be able to kill the man who ruined his life, stole his son, and raped his beloved husband, forcing Judai to commit suicide?

Me: Read on!

**_Chapter Eleven: Epiphany_**

"Mr. Ralleigh," Diana whispered to the now frozen man as soon as Viper had slammed the door and left, begging him to understand. "You have to help me. I have seen Cecil, I-"

"Out..." Johan breathed.

Diana's heart was beating in terror, eyes filled with desperation. "Mr. Ralleigh, please-"

"OUT-!!" Johan roared, turning on her. "OUT I SAY!!"

Diana took a step back in horror before turning and running out of the room, down the stairs. She would return when he had calmed. Johan nearly fell in his chair, his rage the only motivation he had to keep standing. His knees were trembling as he heard footsteps come rushing up the stairs towards the room.

Asuka opened the door moments later, bunching up her skirts in her hands so that she did not trip over them as she came up the stairs. She stepped into the room quickly, closing the door behind her.

"All this running and shouting about, what's happened?" she asked Johan.

Johan punched the wall hard enough to draw blood from his knuckles, biting his lower lip hard enough to draw blood from. He could taste the metallic liquid, but he paid it no mind.

[Johan]  
**I had him!  
His throat was there beneath my hand.**

"There there, love, calm down," Asuka whispered, touching the man's shoulder gently.

Johan instantly whirled around and death-glared at her, his full rage now directed right at her, the only person in the room that he could aim his anger towards.

**No, I had him!  
His throat was there and now he'll never come again.**

Asuka stepped towards him, scared. Fear shone visible in her eyes. She had never seen him this upset before. She was afraid he was either going to hurt himself or her in this state.

[Asuka]  
**Easy now, hush love hush  
I keep telling you-**

[Johan]  
**When?!**

Asuka gulped as Johan snapped at her, but she continued on as if she wasn't scared of the bluenette's rage. She stepped towards him and laid her hand down on his.

[Asuka]  
**What's your rush?**

[Johan]  
**Why did I wait?  
You told me to wait -  
Now he'll never come again.**

Johan jerked his hand away from Asuka. His fists clenched and he glared out the window into the darkening sky. The sun was setting, casting an evil red and orange glow over the town, like fire.

He glared over the city.

**There's a hole in the world like a great black pit  
And it's filled with people who are filled with shit  
And the vermin of the world inhabit it.  
But not for long...**

An insane smile spread across his lips. He turned to face Asuka, who saw the grin and took a step backwards. Johan turned and slowly advanced on the blond woman.

**They all deserve to die.  
Tell you why, Miss Asuka, tell you why.  
Because in all of the whole human race  
Miss Asuka, there are two kinds of men and only two  
There's the one they put in his proper place  
And the one with his foot in the other one's face  
Look at me, Miss Asuka, look at you.**

Johan grabbed the woman by the shoulders and yanked her forward.

**Now we all deserve to die  
Even you Miss Asuka...even I**

The bluenette pushed her away from himself. Johan made a violent slashing motion right near Asuka's exposed throat with his silver razor, coming close to her skin, but not actually cutting into her pale flesh.

**Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief  
For the rest of us death will be a relief  
We all deserve to die.**

Johan moved away from Asuka, green eyes tormented, his voice a low wail.

**And I'll never see Cecil  
No I'll never hold my boy to me - finished!**

Johan's mind seemed to shift, and he found himself standing in the middle of town, the buildings blacker than soot. The sky was as red as Devil's fire, and it looked like a scene from Hell. People were walking around, but Johan knew that they were all in his mind. He recognized a few of them, but none of them paid him any mind. Damn hallucinations.

"Alright!" Johan hollered. No one turned to look at him.

"You sir, you sir, how about a shave?" he asked a man, getting face to face with him. The man didn't notice Johan and just kept on walking through town.

Johan turned to the other people walking.

"Come and visit your good friend Jehu!" he shouted to them. He rushed up and pushed the razor near another man's neck, right near his visible jugular vein. "You sir, you sir? Welcome to the grave!"

He weaved through town, no one paying him any mind. It was as if he was invisible.

**I will have vengeance.  
I will have salvation.**

Johan rushed into the crowd and pushed the razor in front of someone else's neck.

"Who sir, you sir? No one in the chair, come on! Come on!" he called out, a sadistic smirk spread over his face. "Jehu's waiting," he hissed. His voice became cold and angry.

"I want you bleeders," he spat towards the noblemen that weaved through the crowd.

They paid him no mind either, walking on as if Johan were invisible and void of any voice. Johan narrowed his eyes and leaned up against a man who was looking at his watch,

"You sir-" he tried, but the man did nothing. Johan threw his hands to the air. "Anybody!" he hollered. He looked around to all of the gentlemen in the crowd walking around him. "Gentlemen, now, don't be shy!"

Johan turned and faced the skies, shouting his next declaration to the skies, as if to let the god that caused his family to suffer such pain to known the pain he felt. The rage he felt. The sorrow, the heart break, the absolute hatred for the man who had caused it.

**Not one man, no, no ten men.  
Not a hundred can assuage me -  
I will have you!**

Johan wandered down an imaginary alley, his hands holding two open razors, ready to tear through flesh and drip rubies onto the cobblestone floors of the town.

**And I will get him back even as he gloats  
In the meantime I'll practice on dishonorable throats.**

It began to rain lightly, as if to mirror the tears of sorrow that Johan could not cry.

Johan dropped to his knees in front of a puddle, looking down at his reflection. He looked a mess. He looked on the verge of tears, but none would fall, no matter how hard he willed them.

He hugged himself close. He felt cold all of a sudden.

**And my Judai lies in ashes  
I'll never see my two dearest boys again.**

The insanity returned, and the rain stopped almost instantly.

Johan looked to the skies with a wide, wild, insane grin spread across his lips. His eyes were wide, pupils narrow, and his eyes were a shade or two lighter, the color of neon fire.

**But the work waits!  
I'm alive at last!  
And I'm full of joy!**

Johan blinked to find himself back in his shop, on his knees in front of his chair. He looked over to Asuka, who looked a little scared, worried, and a little less than impressed.

"That's all well and good," Asuka said. "But what do we do about him?" She jerked her thumb towards the chest where Cronos's body lay.

---

Me: Okay! Poor Johan! Damn Viper for making him feel such horrible pain! Oh, and what Johan meant by "I'll never see my two dearest boys again", meant that he will never see Judai and Cecil again. Those are his two dearest boys.

Lucy: But what will they do about the body of Cronos? That will be discovered in the next chapter, so have no worries about that, my dear and wonderful readers!

Me: Please review! We shall update ASAP!


	13. A Little Priest

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right! What are they going to do with Cronos's body?

Lucy: If you wish to find out, please read on! This is kinda weird chapter, but please read on and enjoy!

Me: Chapter start!

**_Chapter Twelve: A Little Priest_**

Johan looked over at the case with narrow eyes. He couldn't seem to think about anything at the moment besides the horrible things that the man had said about his husband. Asuka raised a thin blond eyebrow and sighed heavily, brushing her hair out of her face. She was right at Johan's side, helping to stand him up.

"You big hump of idiotic flesh, come here," she sighed, leading the man down the stairs.

Once they were downstairs, Asuka put Johan on one of the chairs and poured him a thing of ale. Martin was probably sleeping right now, since he had drank so much gin.

Asuka handed the glass of ale to the bluenette.

"There now, drink that all up now," she murmured softly, and Johan obeyed. "Good. Now, there is a body rotting upstairs, and that's hardly good for business. What do we do?"

"Later on, I'll bring him to the lake and bury him near there. No one will ever find him," Johan muttered.

"Yes, I suppose we can," Asuka said, sitting on the edge of her counter. "I don't suppose he has any relatives or people who would come looking for him and come snooping about."

Her arms folded across her chest.

[Asuka]  
**Seems a downright shame...**

"Shame?" Johan asked in confusion.

Asuka looked at the dusty pies that laid around the counter. A twinkle touched her golden eyes as she looked back down to Johan, still flashing her trademark smile at him.

[Asuka]  
**Seems an awful waste...  
Such a nice, plump frame  
Wot's 'is name has...  
Had...  
Has!  
Nor it can't be traced...  
Bus'ness needs a lift,  
Debts to be erased...  
Think of it as thrift,  
As a gift,  
If you get my drift!**

**No?**

**Seems an awful waste...  
I mean, with the price of meat  
What it is,  
When you get it,  
If you get it...**

"HAH!" Johan laughed.

Asuka smiled at him with a chuckle.

"Good, you got it!" she murmured. She looked out the window to the pie shop across the street, where there was a for sale sign. The store was going out of business, but that just meant less competition for Asuka.

**Take, for instance, Mrs. Mooney and her pie shop!  
Bus'ness never better using only pussycats and toast!  
And a pussy's good for maybe six or seven at the most!  
And I'm sure they can't compare as far as taste!**

Johan stood up with a smile and grabbed Asuka by the shoulders.

[Johan]  
**Miss Asuka, what a charming notion**

[Asuka]  
**Well, it does seem a waste...**

Johan:  
**Eminently practical  
And yet appropriate as always!**

[Asuka]  
**It's an idea...**

Johan spun the girl and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her as close as he could. Their eyes locked, the two friends, and they just smiled at one another.

[Johan]  
**Miss Asuka, how I've lived  
Without you all these years, I'll never know!  
How delectable!  
Also undetectable!**

[Asuka]  
**Think about it!  
Lots of other gentlemen'll  
Soon be comin' for a shave,  
Won't they?  
Think of  
All them  
Pies!**

Johan gave a hearty laugh.

[Johan]  
**How choice!  
How rare!  
For what's the sound of the world out there?**

[Asuka]  
**What, Mr. Ralleigh?  
What, Mr. Ralleigh?  
What is that sound?**

[Johan]  
**Those crunching noises pervading the air!**

[Asuka]  
**Yes, Mr. Ralleigh!  
Yes, Mr. Ralleigh!  
Yes, all around!**

[Johan]  
**It's man devouring man, my dear!**

[BOTH]  
**And**[Asuka: **Then**] **who are we to deny it in here?**

"These are desperate times, Miss Asuka, and desperate measures are called for!" Johan said with a small grin.

Asuka grinned at him. She reached over and pulled out a pie from the counter, covered in age and dust. "Here we are, now!" she said, showing Johan the little pie, a joking grin on her face. "Hot out of the oven!"

"What is that?" Johan asked, looking at it.

[Asuka]  
**It's priest. Have a little priest.**

"Is it really good?" Johan sniffed it and eyed it, pretending to be interested in what the pie was

[Asuka]  
**Sir, it's too good, at least!  
Then again, they don't commit sins of the flesh,  
So it's pretty fresh.**

[Johan]  
**Awful lot of fat.**

[Asuka]  
**Only where it sat.**

[Johan]  
**Haven't you got poet, or something like that?**

[Asuka]  
**No, y'see, the trouble with poet is  
'Ow do you know it's deceased?  
Try the priest!**

Johan pretended to take a bite of the "priest pie" and smiled. "Heavenly! Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps, but then again, not as bland as curate, either!" he said with a small laugh.

[Asuka]  
**And good for business, too -- always leaves you wantin' more!  
Trouble is, we only get it on Sundays!**

**Lawyer's rather nice.**

[Johan]  
**If it's for a price.**

[Asuka]  
**Order something else, though, to follow,  
Since no one should swallow it twice!**

[Johan]  
**Anything that's lean.**

[Asuka]  
**Well, then, if you're British and loyal,  
You might enjoy Royal Marine!  
Anyway, it's clean.  
Though of course, it tastes of wherever it's been!**

Johan pointed to the roaring fire in the parlor room area, in which Martin was sleeping on the couch right beside it.

[Johan]  
**Is that squire, on the fire?**

[Asuka]  
**Mercy no, sir, look closer,  
You'll notice it's grocer!**

[Johan]  
**Looks thicker,  
More like vicar!**

[Asuka]  
**No, it has to be grocer --  
It's green!**

[Johan]  
**The history of the world, my dear--**

Johan took Asuka's hand and spun her around.

[Asuka]  
**Save a lot of graves,  
Do a lot of relatives favors!**

[Johan]  
**It's those below serving those up above!**

[Asuka]  
**Ev'rybody shaves,  
So there should be plenty of flavors!**

[Johan]  
**How gratifying for once to know**

[BOTH]  
**That those above will serve those down below!**

Asuka and Johan got face to face with each other, hands intertwined, similar grins on their lips. Both of them looked like big bad wolves wrapped in sheep's clothing.

"Now let's see, here..." Asuka murmured, pointing to another pie. "We've got tinker.

"Something... pinker," Johan said.

"Tailor?"

"Paler."

"Butler?"

"Subtler."

"Potter?

Johan scoffed. "Hotter."

"Locksmith?" Asuka tried.

Johan gave her a thumbs down on each of them. Asuka sighed and looked away, picking up another dusty pie from the counter and holding it out to Johan with a reassuring grin.

**Lovely bit of clerk.**

[Johan]  
**Maybe for a lark.**

[Asuka]  
**Then again there's sweep  
If you want it cheap  
And you like it dark!  
Try the financier,  
Peak of his career!**

[Johan]  
**That looks pretty rank.**

[Asuka]  
**Well, he drank,  
It's a bank  
Cashier.  
Never really sold.  
Maybe it was old.**

Johan looked to Asuka with glittering green eyes.

[Johan]  
**Have you any Beadle?**

[Asuka]  
**Next week, so I'm told!  
Beadle isn't bad till you smell it and  
Notice 'ow well it's been greased...  
Stick to priest!**

Asuka picked up a pie and held it out to Johan. "Now then, this might be a little bit stringy, but then of course it's... fiddle player!" she told him with a little giggle.

"No, this isn't fiddle player -- it's piccolo player!" Johan pointed out, after examining the pie.

"'Ow can you tell?" Asuka asked.

"It's piping hot!" Johan pretended, tossing the pie in between his hands, as if it were burning him with each passing second. Asuka covered her mouth and giggled.

"Then blow on it first!" she scolded.

[Johan]  
**The history of the world, my sweet --**

[Asuka]  
**Oh, Mr. Ralleigh,  
Ooh, Mr. Ralleigh,  
What does it tell?**

[Johan]  
**Is who gets eaten, and who gets to eat!**

[Asuka]  
**And, Mr. Ralleigh,  
Too, Mr. Ralleigh,  
Who gets to sell!**

[Johan]  
**But fortunately, it's also clear**

[BOTH]  
**That**[Asuka:** But**] **ev'rybody goes down well with beer!**

"Since marine doesn't appeal to you, 'ow about... rear admiral?" Asuka suggested.

"Too salty. I prefer general," Johan said coolly.

"With, or without his privates?" Asuka asked, pointing to two separate dusty pies that rested on the counter. "'With' is extra," she added rather quickly, smiling bright.

"What is that?" Johan pointed to a different pie.

[Asuka]  
**It's fop.  
Finest in the shop.  
And we have some shepherd's pie peppered  
With actual shepherd on top!  
And I've just begun --  
Here's the politician, so oily  
It's served with a doily,  
Have one!**

[Johan]  
**Put it on a bun.  
Well, you never know if it's going to run!**

[Asuka]  
**Try the friar,  
Fried, it's drier!**

[Johan]  
**No, the clergy is really  
Too coarse and too mealy!**

[Asuka]  
**Then actor,  
That's compacter!**

[Johan]  
**Yes, and always arrives overdone!  
I'll come again when you have Lord on the menu!**

"Wait! True, we don't have lord yet, but we've got something you might fancy even better," Asuka said with a wink. Johan's eyes widened slightly, and he seemed intrigued.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Executioner!" Asuka giggled hysterically.

[Johan]  
**Have charity towards the world, my pet!**

[Asuka]  
**Yes, yes, I know, my dear!**

[Johan]  
**We'll take the customers that we can get!**

[Asuka]  
**High-born and low, my love!**

[Johan]  
**We'll not discriminate great from small!  
No, we'll serve anyone,  
Meaning anyone,**

[BOTH]  
**And to anyone  
At all!**

They both stopped singing and looked out the window with twin sadistic grins, watching the fresh meat walk by on the streets of London. Their evil plan had begun.

Revenge would come soon.

---

Me: Okay! It's official! Johan's totally off his rocker! Maybe his thoughts and memories of Judai will be enough to turn him back to his sane self, or will he stay this way forever?

Lucy: What will happen in the next chapter, guys? Read on if you would like to find out!

Me: Please review nicely, and we shall update ASAP!


	14. Cecil

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: The next chapter is up! Something big happens!

Lucy: But at the same time, Johan mourns the loss of his family! By the way, his song will switch between him speaking about Cecil to him speaking about Judai. So notice those little changes.

Me: Anyway, please enjoy!

**_Chapter Thirteen: Cecil_**

Cecil's hands were trembling as he removed clothing from the drawers of his dresser. He slid them into his suitcase, laid over his bed. His hands slid down and grabbed his books as well, throwing them into the suitcase.

"So, it's true," a voice said. The voice made him jump.

Cecil glanced over and saw Viper standing in the doorway. He looked hurt, very angry. He looked dangerous. And even through all that, Cecil straightened his spine and narrowed his eyes.

"Sir," he used the term lightly. "A true gentleman knocks before entering a young man's room."

"True," Viper said, stepping in. "But I see no young man."

"And I see no gentleman," Cecil spat bitterly. He turned and showed his back to Viper, a form of disrespect. He slammed his suitcase closed and turned to glare at Viper, who glared back.

"I told myself that the girl was lying, that it was some cruel fiction... That my Cecil would never hurt me in such a way," Viper said.

"Hah!" Cecil laughed bitterly. "I was never yours!" He picked up his suitcase and turned towards Viper. "I will leave this place with Diana, and you can not stop me!"

"Then, it is only appropriate," Viper started, watching Cecil's eyes coolly. "That since you no longer find my company to your liking, young master, I shall provide you a new lodging." Viper stepped forward and grabbed his arms, yanking the boy close. Cecil glared into his eyes, not shaking, hiding his fear. "Until this moment, I have spared you and given you a home, and you, ungrateful child, break my heart. Now, you will learn some discipline."

He motioned, Napoleon blocking the doorway. Cecil didn't seem the least bit afraid, though inside, he was trembling like a madman. He watched Viper dragged him forward.

"When you have learned to appreciate what you have over what you have lost, we shall meet again," the tall man said. "Until that day, think on your sins, child."

"Think on your own sins!" Cecil spat. "Not on your false accusations of mine!"

Viper threw him towards Napoleon, and they two men dragged Cecil towards a carriage. Cecil fought with them the whole way, but he was unable to fight back. They threw him into the carriage, just as Diana arrived.

"Cecil!" Diana cried, rushing for the boy.

Cecil looked out the window of the carriage, allowing his fear to show for the first time. Cecil was yanked away from the window as the carriage started to roll away.

Diana glared up at Viper, who stood on the stairs.

"Where are you taking him!?" she yelled angrily. "Tell me, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Viper asked. "Kill me, girl? Well, here I stand!" He threw his arms out and gave himself unarmed to Diana. Diana snarled at him, turned on her heels, and rushed after the carriage.

She knew she couldn't catch them, but she had to try.

--

Johan's fingers touched a picture in his shop. It was one that he had taken a long time ago, shortly after Cecil had been born. Judai and Cecil were in the picture, both smiling happily to the camera.

Johan's heart pounded sadly. He longed for them. He longed for his family. Johan closed his eyes and heard the bells of the church in the distance chiming. How ironic...

...Diana rushed down the streets and stopped, knowing that she could not catch the carriage. She frowned, tears staining her cheeks, and she looked to the stormy skies.

[Diana]  
**I feel you, Cecil  
I feel you  
Do they think that walls can hide you?  
Even now I'm at your window  
I am in the dark beside you  
Buried sweetly in your bronze hair  
Cecil**

Johan turned to one of his customers and began working on him. This man was rich and snotty, another man who was going to be used to make pies, as Asuka had planned.

Johan's mind wandered to the thoughts of his son.

[Johan]  
**And are you beautiful and pale  
With bronze hair, like him  
I'd want you beautiful and pale  
The way I've dreamed you were,  
Cecil**

Johan sighed softly as he ran the razor across the snotty man's throat. The man gagged as blood spewed from his new wound, and he collapsed against the back of the chair.

Johan stepped on a pedal on the chair, which he had created to make the chair swoop back, open a trap door, and send the bodies down the duct to the basement, where Asuka's oven was located. It was their plan, after all.

[Diana]  
**Cecil**

Johan looked to the picture of Judai and Cecil, his mind wandering from his darling little son to his beloved husband, the man that Johan had fallen madly in love with.

[Johan]  
**And if you're beautiful what then  
With bronze hair, like that  
I think we shall not meet again,  
My little dove, my sweet,  
Judai**

Diana closed her eyes and let some tears fall as she stood in the streets alone.

[Diana]  
**I'll steal you, Cecil**

Johan went back to work on a kindly man. This one would live. This man got his shave finished, paid Johan, and walked out of the shop with his life. Johan sighed and sat down in the chair, looking out the window to the darkness. Night was falling.

[Johan]  
**Goodbye, Judai  
You're gone and yet you're mine  
I'm fine, Judai  
I'm fine**

Diana kept walking forward.

She had to find the boy that she had fallen in love with. She had to find him and bring him with her. He didn't deserve the fate that he was given, and he needed to be freed.

[Diana]  
**Cecil**

Outside the pie shop/barber shop, the beggar man was watching the building with wide eyes, hidden by the hood. He looked around and around, calling to people who were heading for the pie shop, which had just recently reopened and was now starting to gain customers.

[Beggar Man]  
**Smoke, smoke  
Sign of the devil  
Sign of the devil  
City on fire  
Witch, a witch  
Smell it sir, an evil smell**

The men and women that the beggar talked to pushed away from him and left, muttering something about him being insane under their breath. The beggar man looked back to the building with wild, fearful eyes.

[Beggar Man]  
**Every night at the vesper's spell  
Smoke that came with an awful hell  
City on fire  
City on fire  
Mischief  
Mischief  
Mischief, I say!**

Johan sighed, wiping his razor and moving to a new customer.

[Johan]  
**And if I never hear your voice,  
My turtle dove, my dear  
I still have reason to rejoice  
The way ahead is clear  
Cecil**

He slit this man's throat as well, since this man made a living out of making people's lives Hell. He stepped on the pedal, and the body was cast down the duct to be made into a new pie.

[Diana]  
**I feel you, Cecil**

[Johan]  
**And in that darkness when I'm blind  
With what I can't forget  
It's always morning in my mind,  
My little lamb, my pet  
Judai  
You stay, Judai**

[Diana]  
**Cecil**

[Johan]  
**The way I dreamed you were  
Oh, look, Cecil  
A star**

Johan smiled at the shooting star as it swept by.

Diana stood in the middle of the streets and saw it moving as well, tears shining in her eyes.

[Diana]  
**Buried sweetly in your bronze hair**

[Johan]  
**A shooting star**

Outside the building, the half-crazed beggar man pointed to the chimney of the pie shop/barber shop. He was jumping up and down, literally going madder than he could be.

[Beggar Man]  
**There, there  
Somebody, somebody  
Look up there  
Didn't I tell you?  
Smell that air  
City on fire**

The beggar man went to a nobleman, but the noble just waved his hand at the beggar and returned to his activities. He walked into the pie shop, ignoring the beggar's warnings.

[Beggar Man]  
**Quick, sir! Run and tell  
Warn them all of the witch's spell  
There it is, there it is  
There in hell, this smell  
Tell it to the Beadle, and police as well  
Tell them, tell them  
Oh! Fiend!  
City on fire  
City on fire!  
Mischief  
Mischief, I say!**

Johan sat in his chair, holding the picture in one hand, his razor in the other.

[Johan]  
**And though I'll think of you I guess  
Until the day I die  
I think I miss you less and less  
As every day goes by  
Cecil**

[Diana]  
**Cecil**

[Johan]  
**And you'd be beautiful and pale  
And look too much like him  
Oh, Cecil  
If only angels could prevail  
We'd be the way we were  
Judai**

Johan touched the figure lightly with his fingers, tears in his eyes.

[Diana]  
**I feel you, Cecil**

[Johan]  
**Wake up, Cecil  
Another bright red day  
We learn, Cecil  
To say  
Goodbye**

Johan put the picture down and stood, ready to work on another customer. This one would live as well. He was a kind enough man, and was going to go down and get a pie after a shave. Johan could let him live.

Diana looked to the moon.

[Diana]  
**I'll steal you**

Johan watched as the man went down the stairs, thanking him over and over again. Johan closed the door and looked out the window, hoping that Cecil was seeing the same moon he was.

He closed his eyes.

He had work to do.

---

Me: Oh, poor Johan and Diana! Johan's heartbroken, and Cecil's in a locked away place, far away from those that he cares about! Fear not, Cecil! Diana and your daddy will save you!

Lucy: But what will they do? How will they do it?

Me: Please review!


	15. God, That's Good!

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: This is the next chapter in the story, guys!

Lucy: Someone we think we all know makes another appearance, but his true part will be on chapter 16! So please enjoy this story as it continues being updated!

Me: Thank you all!

**_Chapter Fourteen: God, That's Good!_**

Outside the pie shop/barber shop, Martin hopped out into the middle of the street, the inside of the building lit and bright for the first time in a long time. Martin wore new clothes, and his hair had been cleaned so that he looked amazing.

People walking stopped and looked at him.

[Martin]  
**Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?  
Are your nostrils a quiver and tingling as well at the delicate lashes ambrosial smell?  
Yes they are I can tell  
Well, ladies and gentlemen, that aroma enriching the bees  
Is like nothing compared to its succulent source as the gourmets among you will tell you of course  
Ladies and gentlemen you can't imagine the rapture in store  
Just inside of this door!  
There you'll sample Miss Asuka's meat pies  
savory and sweet pies as you'll see  
You, who eat pies Miss Asuka's meat pies  
conjure up the treat pies used to be**

Within the shop, Asuka was busy handing out pies to hungry customers, who were sitting at tables and munching away at them. The blond woman never looked so happy before.

She looked up to a new customer with a smile.

[Asuka]  
**Nice to see you dearie  
how have you been keeping?  
Coo m'bounds is weary  
Martin, one for the gentleman  
hear the birdies cheeping  
helps to keep it cheery  
Martin, throw the beggar man out!**

Martin looked over and saw the scrawny beggar man that snooped around their shop trying to enter through the crowd. Martin bustled over and took the beggar by the wrist, bringing him to the door.

"Sorry, sir," he murmured. "Store orders."

The beggar's weak lips formed into a tiny smile as he brushed his fingers across the boy's cheek, murmuring something softly. Martin didn't quite catch it as the beggar turned and fled down the street.

[ENSEMBLE]  
**God, that's good!**

Asuka giggled and turned to another customer.

[Asuka]  
**What's your pleasure dearie?  
No we don't cut slices  
Coo m'eyes is bleary  
Martin, none for the gentleman!  
I put up m'prices  
I'm a little leery  
Business couldn't be better now!**

[ENSEMBLE]  
**God, that's good!**

[Asuka]  
**Knock on wood!**

"Psst!" Johan called into the shop from the stairs outside.

"Excuse me," Asuka curtsied and rushed to the door, leaving the customers to wait a moment at the counter. "Dear, see to the customers?" She pointed to the customers.

"Psst!" Johan pointed upstairs.

"Yes? What, love? Quick, though the trade is brisk," she said, starting to turn back to the shop.

"But its six o clock," Johan said.

"So its six o clock," Asuka said with a shrug of her partially exposed shoulders.

"Yes, and you'll have another customer soon. And the other pies should be getting done around now. Don't let them burn. It'll reek," Johan warned with a wag of the finger.

[ENSEMBLE]  
**More hot pies!**

[Asuka]  
**Will you wait, they're cooling  
'Cause my customers truly are getting unruly**

Asuka turned, gathered her skirts in her hands, and brushed past Johan back into the shop.

"You come back when they're done!" he called, turning and heading back up to the barber shop, where another snotty man was waiting to get his beard trimmed.

Asuka smiled and turned to the customers at the counter.

[Asuka]  
**And what's your pleasure dearie?  
Oops I beg your pardon  
Just m'hands are smeary  
Martin, run for the gentleman  
down to Lover Garden  
always makes me teary  
must be one of them foreigners**

[ENSEMBLE]  
**God, that's good! That is delicious!**

[Asuka]  
**What's my secret?  
Frankly dear, forgive my can of firmly secret all to do with herbs  
things like being  
careful with your curry and that's what makes the gravy grander**

[ENSEMBLE]  
**More hot pies! More hot, more pies!**

"Psst!" Johan called.

Asuka sighed. "Excuse me," she said to her customers. She bunched her skirts and walked to the door where Johan was. "What now, love? Quick, though the trade is brisk," she pointed to the customers.

"The other pies are ready, and you have a new amount of meat to put into them," Johan said. "Don't you care about that?"

"No Ill be there, I will be there, but then none will get sold if I let them get cold," Asuka pointed to the other pies sitting on the bottom of the counter, away from the hungry customers who had not paid yet.

"But we have to prepare!" Johan complained softly.

[Asuka]  
**Oh and incidentally dearie  
you know Mrs. Mooney  
sales have been so dreary  
Martin, poor thing is penniless  
What about that loony?  
Lookin sort of beery  
Oh well go get them upinsin that will be thruppinsin**

[ENSEMBLE]  
**God, that's good! That is de-have-u-licious at the tasty smell such oh my god what's more that pie's good  
ooh ooh ooh  
ooh ooh ooh**

"I'll go see to the customers," Asuka turned and went into the shop.

"I'll call you," Johan said as another snotty customer walked up the stairs into his barber shop. "I have another friend." With that, he turned and went up the stairs after him.

[Martin]  
**Is that a pie fit for a king?  
Oh wondrous sweet and most particular thing**

[Asuka]  
**Its gorgeous its gorgeous**

[Martin]  
**You see ma'am why there is no meat pie can compete with this delectable pie**

[Asuka]  
**Its perfect its gorgeous**

[Martin]  
**The crust all velvety and wavy**

[Asuka]  
**The crust all velvety and wavy**

[Martin]  
**That glaze, those crimps**

[Asuka]  
**That glaze, those crimps**

[Martin]  
**And then the thick succulent gravy**

Johan clapped his hands as he stepped on the pedal and sent another dead body tumbling into the basement. "Then down they go. The cellar waits below," he murmured with a smile.

Back downstairs, no one even noticed the horrors going on.

[Martin]  
**One whiff will make me glimpse  
a wonder that we surrender**

[Johan]  
**On with, the show**

"Psst!" Johan called into the shop again. Asuka turned and walked up to him. "When I pound the floor," he said. "Its a signal to show that they're ready to go when I pound the floor."

"Yes I know. You told me you'd be ready to go when you pound the floor!" Asuka said with a nod.

"I just want to be sure," Johan murmured before turning and heading back upstairs, where yet another snotty customer was awaiting. Asuka called up after him.

"I'll be waiting below for the oven whistle to blow!" she called up, turning back to the shop.

[ENSEMBLE]  
**Exactly more hot pies! God!  
More hot! right! More pies! More! Right!**

[Asuka]  
**How about it dearie?  
be here in a twinkling  
just confirms my theory  
Martin, god wash this off of here  
sit and have an inkling  
Martin, throw the beggar man out**

Martin sighed and took the same beggar man by the wrist and led him outside once again. The beggar went without a fight, like usual, and Martin brought him out to the streets.

"Sorry, sir," he murmured. "Shop policy."

The beggar smiled a weak smile, fingers brushing Martin's cheek again.

"Such a cute boy," he murmured lovingly. "Such a good, innocent boy. Doesn't even realize what is really going on. Such an innocent little boy. Such a cute, innocent little boy."

The beggar turned and vanished into the fog, not returning this time to the shop.

Martin turned back to his post, trying to sell the pies with Asuka, forgetting all about what the old beggar man had said to him.

[Martin]  
**Is that a pie fit for a king?  
Oh wondrous sweet and most delectable thing  
you see maam why there is no meat pie**

[ENSEMBLE]  
**God, that's good! That is de-have-u-licious at the tasty smell such oh my god what's perfect more that pies such flavor God  
that's good!**

No one noticed the horrors that occurred underneath the shop as each and every last one of these pies was being created. They just kept eating, fueling the Devil's fire.

---

Me: All right, this was kinda a strange chapter, but we got to see a bit more of the beggar man! The next chapter will involve Johan remembering Judai and Asuka speaking of plans in the future if things go the way they do!

Lucy: So please look forward to the next chapter, guys!

Me: Please, please, please review and we shall update ASAP!


	16. By the Sea

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: This is the next chapter, guys!

Lucy: Johan remembers a bit about Judai and such, so this is a kinda sad chapter for our dear Johan!

Me: So please enjoy!

**_Chapter Fifteen: By the Sea_**

Later that night, Asuka threw her arms around Johan's neck. The customers had long since left and the shop had closed. Martin had eaten a pie and gone up to bed after a tot of gin.

"Ooh, Mr. Ralleigh!" Asuka said with a big grin. She gave him a friendly peck on the cheek. "I'm so happy!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek once again. "I could eat you up, I really could! You know what I'd like to do, Mr. Ralleigh? What I dream if the business stays as good? Where I'd really like to go, Iin a year or so? Don't you want to know?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Johan said, rather absent-minded.

"Do you really want to know?" Asuka beamed.

"Yes, I do, I do," Johan replied.

"I've always had this dream... Ever since I was a skinny little slip of a thing and my rich Aunt Nettie used to take me down to the seaside August Bank Holiday... The pier... Makin' little castles in the sand... Ooh, I can still feel me toes wigglin' around in the briney!" Asuke giggled and looked to Johan with a big grin.

**By the sea, Mr. Ralleigh, that's the life I covet,  
By the sea, Mr. Ralleigh, ooh, I know you'd love it!  
You and me, Mr. R, we could be there  
In a house wot we'd almost own,  
Down by the sea!  
Wouldn't that be smashing?**

"Anything you say..." Johan murmured.

His mind was elsewhere at the moment, but Asuka wanted to keep throwing her idea out to her old friend, wanting to see how he agreed to it or if it caught his interest.

Asuka:  
**With the sea at our gate, we'll have kippered herring  
Wot have swum to us straight from the Straits of Bering!  
Ev'ry night, in the kip, when we're through our kippers,  
I'll be there slippin' off your slippers!  
By the sea,  
With the fishies splashing!  
By the sea!  
Wouldn't that be smashing?**

"Anything you say, anything you say..." Johan murmured to himself with a small nod.

Asuka kept going.

Asuka:  
**I can hear us wakin,'  
The breakers breakin,'  
The seagulls squawkin,'  
'Hoo, hoo!'  
I do me bakin,'  
Then I go walkin'  
With you-hoo!  
Yoo-hoo!  
I'll warm me bones on the esplanade,  
Have tea and scones with me gay young blade,  
Then I'll knit a sweater  
While you write a letter  
Unless we've got better to do-hoo!**

"Anything you say..." Johan's voice came soft again.

Asuka:  
**Think how snug it'll be underneath the flannel  
When it's just you and us and the English Channel!  
In our cozy retreat kept all neat and tidy,  
We'll have chums over ev'ry Friday!  
By the sea!  
Don'tcha love the weather?  
By the sea!  
We'll grow old together, my friend!  
By the seaside,  
Hoo, hoo!  
By the beautiful sea!**

"Oh, I can see us now, in our bathing dresses! You in a nice, rich navy, and me... stripes, perhaps," Asuka thought about it and shook her head, her nose wrinkled.

Johan couldn't help but show his old friend a small smile.

[Asuka]  
**It'll be so quiet,  
That who'll come by it,  
Except a seagull  
Hoo, hoo!  
We shouldn't try it,  
Though, 'til it's legal for two-hoo!  
But a seaside house could be devised,  
Me rumpled bedding legitimized!  
Me eyelids'll flutter,  
I'll turn into butter,  
The moment I see it right there-hoo!**

**By the sea, in the nest, we could share our kippers  
With the odd payin' guest from the weekend trippers,  
Have a nice sunny suite for the guest to rest in,  
Now and then, you could do the guest in!  
By the sea,  
All together nice and proper!  
By the sea,  
Bring along your chopper!  
To the seaside,  
Hoo, hoo!  
By the beautiful sea!**

When Asuka finished, she looked to her friends and saw him staring out the window. She frowned softly at the sad look in his eyes. It was late at night, his heart was hurting. Not the best thing to go to bed with.

"Tell me, Mr. Ralleigh," Asuka said. "What did your Judai look like?"

Johan turned to her, eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar. He couldn't conjure up an image of the one he had married. He remembered the scent of Judai's hair, the feel of his skin, the loving smile he had given, but Johan could not place an image of the brunette anymore. It was all a faded blur in his mind. His hands trembled.

"You can't remember, can you?" Asuka whispered, reading his mind.

"...He had brown hair..." Johan whispered finally, looking out the cold window. "...Lovely brown hair, like chocolate."

"That all you can remember?" Asuka whispered. Johan was silent, looking out the window. "You have to let this go. If you can't even remember what he looked like, then is there a point in brooding over him? What happened so long ago happened. Get your revenge, and then move on. I am not saying marry another, but think. You'll have your son, soon. Isn't that well enough?"

Johan cast her a hurt look.

"It's not that I am not happy that I'll get Cecil back. It's just..." Johan looked away, closed his eyes, teeth grit. His fist clenched. "...I wish Judai were here with me, too."

Asuka frowned and walked towards him. "Oh, Mr. Ralleigh..."

"Mr. Ralleigh!" Diana pushed the door to the shop open and came rushing in. Johan and Asuka glanced over to her. They saw the tears in her eyes, the fear she was feeling.

Asuka held her by the shoulders. "Calm, child. What happened?" she whispered.

"C-Cecil..." Diana whispered.

Johan perked up at the sound of his son's name. Diana choked out a sob and looked to the bluenette. "Viper sent Cecil to a madhouse. He sent Cecil to a damn madhouse!" she cried out.

---

Me: Oh no! Johan knows that Cecil is in a madhouse! What will he do?!

Lucy: We will find out in the chapter after the next! Because our dear beggar has some things to say in the next chapter, so please look forward to that one! However, I wrote the song for the next one, it's not an actual song from the movie, so I hope you all enjoy the song that I wrote for the beggar to sing xD!

Me: Please review nicely!


	17. Something Wicked

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: This is the next chapter!

Lucy: The beggar man is going to sing a song, in which I wrote, so I hope you all enjoy it! So please enjoy the story as much as you can, and I shall update as soon as I can!

Me: So please enjoy this chappie!

**_Chapter Sixteen: Something Wicked_**

At the same time, outside the pie shop/barber shop, the beggar man was standing in the streets, watching the smoke rising from the chimney with narrowed, hidden eyes.

"Now, didn't I tell ya?!" he shrieked to the people who were still walking down the streets. He threw his weak hands up. "Wicked! Everything on this street is wicked!"

One wandering little boy turned to look at the beggar man.

"Easy, son. Don't get too close," the boy's mother murmured to him, loud enough for the half-crazed beggar man to hear.

"Why's he screaming, Mommy?" the curious boy asked.

"I don't know," the woman said, leading her son away from the beggar.

The beggar pleaded to people walking by, but no one paid him any mind. He threw up his hands and looked to the skies. "Don't they see? Can't they tell? Are they all mad?" he shrieked.

He sighed and looked at the barber shop portion of the two fused shops.

[Beggar Man]  
**It's in there, its out of sight,  
The very being of our plight  
And no one wants to venture inside to see**

**It's so vile, just the thought of it makes me want to puke  
If I weren't so bloody mad, I'd probably run and fetch a Duke  
It isn't fair, it isn't right, it isn't true  
How can the man I use to know be part of this atrocious brew?**

**There's something wicked in the air,  
Something no one knows is there.  
It really is not fair  
How can they do this?**

**I use to know him well,  
I use to hold him close,  
It makes me sad to see,  
How unhappy he can be**

The beggar wrapped his tired arms around himself, remembering the feel of the man he use to love holding him in his arms as well. He could almost smell the man, they were so close.

**There's something wicked in the air,  
Something no one knows is there  
It really isn't fair,  
How can my love do this?**

The beggar glanced over and saw a man walking towards the pie shop. "No! Don't go in there! Don't you see what's going on?" he shrieked, reaching for the man's arm.

"Get back, you vile thing! To the devil with you!" the man yelled, ripping his arm away.

The beggar reached for him. "Don't you see? Why can't you all just see?" he shrieked, trying to pull the man away. The man swung his hand down and slapped the beggar away from himself.

"Get away! Nasty beggar! There's no use for people like you! Go on! Shoo! If you have no money, then get out of my way!" the man spat violently into the beggar's face. "I have nothing for you!"

[Beggar Man]  
**There's something so wicked in this wretched place  
It's enough to make one turn green in the face  
All these lies and deceits  
To disguises these vile human-made treats**

**Why can't people just see that there is something wicked here?  
Why can't the man I love come to me and see me here?  
"Hey, don't I know you?"  
Why hasn't he figured it out just yet?**

The beggar looked to the window of the barber shop, which was closed, the curtains drawn, but the light of a candle shone through. It looked so welcoming and nice.

**There's something wicked in the air,  
Something no one knows is there  
It really is not fair  
How can they do this?**

The beggar frowned and held himself close again, wishing so hard that the man he loved would be there in his arms as soon as he opened his eyes, but when he did, the man was nowhere in sight.

**I use to know him well,  
I use to hold him close,  
It makes me sad to see,  
How unhappy he can be**

**There's something wicked in the air,  
Something no one knows is there  
It really isn't fair,  
How can my love do this?**

"Where are you going, Mr. R?"

The beggar looked up and saw the man known as Mr. Jehu Ralleigh walk out of the pie shop and head up the stairs. The blond woman he worked with stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Upstairs. To prepare, my dear," Jehu Ralleigh said, opening the door to the barber shop and vanishing inside, merely moments later, the candle was sniffed out.

The beggar man held his heart and sighed, tears filling his eyes.

[Beggar Man]  
**There's something wicked in the air,  
Something no one knows is there  
It really is not fair  
How can they do this?**

**I use to know him well,  
I use to hold him close,  
It makes me sad to see,  
How unhappy he can be**

**There's something wicked in the air,  
Something no one knows is there  
It really isn't fair,  
How can my love do this?**

The beggar recalled such happy times and looked up to the chimney. It was still cooking something. He pursed his lips and looked to the barber shop window with longing eyes.

**There's something so wicked in the air,  
It really isn't fair.  
How can you do such horrid things?**

The beggar turned on his heels and started down the street, hands laid over his heart.

**Johan, my love?**

The beggar choked out a small sob, his tears streaming down his cheeks. His eyes were still hidden, but the tears on his cheeks were just as visible as his lips, chin, and nose were.

---

Me: All right, so by now, everyone should have a big idea on who the beggar is!

Lucy: The next chapter will have what happens to Cecil, and the story shall progress along that line, so please enjoy it, all of you, to the best of your ability! I hope you liked my song!

Me: Please review nicely, guys! Nicely!


	18. Not While I'm Around

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right! The next chapter begins!

Lucy: What shall happen in this chapter, read on to find out! The story is almost finished, to be quite honest with all of you, so please enjoy all of these remaining chapters!

Me: Please enjoy!

**_Chapter Seventeen: Not While I'm Around_**

Asuka looked over at Johan with her lips pursed together. He had been silent ever since Diana had left. Johan had helped her plan a way to go and rescue Cecil from the hands of Viper.

Diana was going to pose as a wig-maker and demand to see all the boys in the madhouse with brown hair. Wig-makers in this day and age would often take hair from madhouse patients, and no one at the madhouse knew Diana, so there would be no question. She would go in and out, take Cecil, and then leave before Viper came to check on him.

Diana had gone off a short while ago, determined to have it work. She even disguised herself as a boy to make sure that Viper wouldn't recognize her right off if he saw her.

"I'm home," Johan murmured suddenly.

"Pardon?" Asuka asked, glancing up at the man.

Johan was sitting on the couch near the fireplace, where he had been the same night Asuka had told him what happened to Judai. He was looking into the roaring fire with calm eyes, almost on the verge of tears. Asuka could see them glittering behind his green spheres, but she never said anything.

"I'm home," Johan murmured again. His eyes never left the fire. "That's what I was going to tell Judai the moment I returned home. Before I told him how much I loved him. 'I'm home'."

Asuka sighed and clapped her hands on the arms of the dusty chair. "Mr. Ralleigh, you were put on a life sentence for a false charge. Did you truly believe that Judai would wait for you and stay loyal?"

Johan turned on her with a hurt expression.

"Judai was loyal to me. Judai was pure. I was his first love, and he was mine! Judai wouldn't have ever given himself to another," the bluenette explained, his eyes wandering back to the fire.

"That's why he committed suicide after Viper raped him! Because he felt so impure! He felt like he had betrayed me!" Johan whispered violently, gripping his hand into a fist. He grit his teeth, and Asuka noticed the tears that were threatening to fall, but none of them did. He was trembling violently, shoulders rocking.

"No... _No_-!!" Johan turned and tore up the stairs to his barber shop.

Asuka jumped up and reached for the man. "Mr. Ralleigh-" The door slammed, and Asuka slid back into her chair. "Oh, the poor man," she murmured to herself. She sighed and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers. "Ooh, I need a break," she whispered, the headache pounding.

Martin sat down beside Asuka and flashed her a smile.

"It'll be all right, Ma'am," he reassured.

When he saw Asuka frown and look away, he decided that he needed to show her in a different way that everything was going to be all right from now on. He laced his arms around her.

**Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around.  
Nothing's gonna harm you, no ma'am, not while I'm around.**

**Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadays,  
I'll send 'em howling,  
I don't care, I got ways.**

"That's nice, dear," Asuka smiled, brushing her hand through his hair. "That's very nice, indeed."

**No one's gonna hurt you,  
No one's gonna dare.  
Others can desert you,  
Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there.**

**Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,  
But in time...  
Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around...**

**Not to worry, not to worry  
I may not be smart, but I'm not dumb.  
I can do it. Put me to it. Show me somethin - I can overcome.  
Not to worry, ma'am.**

"Dear, is this really all necessary?" Asuka whispered. "I'm just fine. I'm just a little worried about Mr. Ralleigh is all. The poor man has been through so much heartbreak in such a short time."

Martin turned to her with a kind grin.

**Being close and being clever  
Ain't like being true  
I don't need to,  
I would never hide a thing from you,  
Like some...**

**Nothin's gonna harm you. Not while I'm around.  
Nothing's gonna harm you, darling  
Not while I'm around.**

Martin hugged the woman and buried himself into her shoulder, almost falling asleep. He sleepily sung the next lines of his son, drifting to sleep on Asuka's shoulder the moment he finished.

**Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,  
But in time...  
Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around...**

"That's a nice notion, dearie," Asuka murmured, brushing her fingers over the boy's cheek. "If only Mr. Ralleigh knew that, too," the blond closed her eyes and leaned back against her chair.

--

Diana had her black hair bunched up underneath a cap, and she had been given some of Johan's clothes, so that she appeared to be a man. No one had suspected her just yet.

"Well, these are all of our brown-haired patients," the keeper of the madhouse said, leading Diana through a stone corridor and into a large room, where there were not two walls greeting her.

Both sides of the wall were huge jail cells, a long corridor leading into another room. The man turned Diana to face the jail cells, and she peered down inside.

Brown-haired women were in one of the cells, and brown-haired men were in the other cell. They all looked horrified and frightened. Diana glanced around until she spotted Cecil, hovering in the corner of the men's cell, looking as if he had been tormented verbally by the other inmates in his cell.

"That one," Diana snapped.

The keeper opened the cage and smacked at those who tried to rush out when he did so. He grabbed Cecil by the hair and yanked him out of the cell. It broke Diana's heart to hear Cecil shouting to be let go. It hurt her even worse when she heard the madhouse keeper slap his hand across the brunette's face.

"Here ya go," the madhouse man said, tossing the brunette to Diana. "He's the only one with teal naturally mixed into his hair. A rare catch indeed, if I do say so myself."

"I agree," Diana said. As the madhouse keeper turned, Diana pointed a gun at his face. The madhouse man squeaked, and Diana looked down to Cecil. "I will be leaving with my friend, now. As for you..." Diana smirked and pressed her foot against the man's stomach, her eyes wild with sadistic pleasure.

"I'll leave you to your children."

Diana then pushed the man into the cell with the brunettes and slammed the door shut. She turned Cecil and rushed from the room as the madhouse keeper's horrid screams filled the room.

Diana smiled down to Cecil. "I've come to rescue you, Cecil. And now..."

Diana whooped as she and Cecil fled the madhouse, heading down towards the barber shop/pie shop, careful to avoid anyone that might recognize them and tell Viper.

"We are almost free!"

---

Me: Yes! Diana freed Cecil from the madhouse! But now Viper's going to find out!

Lucy: And what do you think will happen? There are only three chaopters left to go, you guys! So I hope you will enjoy it as soon as it is up and a-running, guys!

Me: Please review, and we shall update soon!


	19. The Finale Part I

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right! We are now beginning the finale!

Lucy: There are two more chapters after this one, and then there is the bonus chapter, which is the alternate ending to the story, so I hope you will all enjoy this story when it finishes!!

Me: Please enjoy!

**_Chapter Eighteen: The Finale Part I_**

Asuka flinched when the door to the barber shop slammed above her. She looked to her side and saw Johan dashing down the stairs like a rocket, rushing towards her. He dug his heels into the ground and stopped in front of the blond with a screech. Asuka noticed that he was panting and sweating slightly.

"Diana should be back with Cecil any moment now. There's no time. We have to get ready Viper should be soon following," the bluenette quickly pointed out.

"I know," Asuka said. She nodded her head towards the sleeping Martin, still cuddled close to her. "But what do we do with the boy? We can't honestly let him in on this."

Johan folded his arms across his chest. Green eyes scanned over him, like a vulture looking for the best place to attack its dead prey. He was deep in thought, but the look in his eyes scared Asuka more than anything else in the world had. She clenched her arms around Martin, for fear that Johan would tell her to 'dispose' of him.

"Put him in the basement," Johan said finally. "Just have him stay down there until it's all finished."

"And tell him what?" Asuka asked.

"Tell him it's part of his job to make some new meat pies. He's young. He should believe you," the bluenette turned on his heel and marched back up the stairs to get ready.

Asuka sighed softly and looked to the boy in her arms.

"God spare this boy, please," she whispered a soft prayer to the skies and started to awaken him.

--

Asuka smiled down at Martin as she led him to the stairs of the basement. Martin was smiling as they almost skipped down the stairs. To him, it was just a basement. To Asuka, it was always like walking into the mouth of Hell itself. They walked down what seemed like miles and miles of endless stairs.

"My heart goes out to you, Miss Asuka, for having to climb all these each day," Martin said with a smile.

Asuka flashed him a tiny smile. "Yes, well, now that shall be your job," she told him.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were in the basement. The smell was nearly horrible. Asuka tensed and saw Martin's nose crinkle at the nasty smell. She pointed to one of the grates.

"That grate leads to the sewers," she pointed out. "The smell comes from there. Dead rats and such," she made a grunt of disgust. Martin looked to her with shining eyes.

"Where do I begin?"

"This is the bake-oven," Asuka pointed to her massive oven. "Ten dozen pies at a time, just make sure the door is closed properly." She turned to another small machine. "This one is straight forward. Just pop the meat in, give it a grind, and meat comes out there."

Martin murmured the directions to himself again and smiled to show that he understood.

"That's my boy," Asuka smiled and turned to the stairs. "I have to run upstairs for a bit. I'll be back in a flash," she told him.

Before she left, Martin turned towards her. "Miss Asuka?" he called. She turned. "Is it all right if I have a pie or two while I wait?" he asked, eagerness in his eyes. Asuka smiled sadly.

"...As many as you want, dear," she whispered, heading back up the stairs. "As many as you want."

Asuka fled up the stairs and closed the door to the basement, frowning at the fact that she wasn't telling Martin all there was to the story. She sighed and flew up the stairs to the barber shop.

--

Johan paced back and forth in his barber shop. Asuka frowned and reached out to touch his shoulder, but he moved away whenever her hand came close to him.

"That boy will cause trouble if he gets out. He'll find out what we are doing," he said.

"He won't cause any harm," Asuka calmed the man. "Shh. Calm down. Revenge is almost at hand. He won't find out. It will be fine."

Johan simmered down and looked out the window. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Beadle Napoleon on his way down the street, towards their shops. Johan turned and showed Asuka a shocked face. She gave him one back, and the two dashed down the stairs to the streets, to greet the man.

When they got outside, he was standing at the base of the stairs, waiting for them.

"Excuse me, sir," Asuka said, curtsying. "You gave me a fright."

"Did not intend to, Madam," he said. He turned to Johan. "Some people are here have been complaining about the stench that is coming from your basement. Says it smells of rotting meat, and they asked me to come and check it out. I would be grateful if you would show me to your oven with no delays."

Asuka seemed nervous, but Johan just grinned.

"Of course," he said with a bow. "Of course. We'd be more than glad to. However..." Johan ran his finger over his lips in thought. "You look like you haven't been to the barber. And I still owe you one. Before the week is out, correct?"

"...Correct," Napoleon said cautiously.

"Well," Johan said with a sly shrug. "The week will be out in a few hours. So please, head on upstairs, and after that, I can take you down to see the oven if you so like."

Napoleon hesitated, but soon followed Johan up into the barber shop. Asuka watched as the door closed, and she knew in an instant that Napoleon would never see the light of day again. She turned and started to head into the pie shop to finish packing. They would head out soon, when Cecil and Diana arrived, and they would need to escape.

--

Down inside the basement, Martin was eating one of the pies while he waited for the other ones to bake. He swung his legs back and forth near the sewer grates, and just peered into them. The grate was large enough for someone his size to climb down inside if he chose to.

Martin bit into one of the pies, and his eyes widened slightly.

There was something hard in there.

He moved his mouth away from the pie and dug his fingers into it. He yanked out the hard thing he had bitten in to, and examined it, brushing off the pieces of pie crust and fixings that clung to it.

His eyes doubled in size.

It was a finger.

He dropped the pie to the ground and collapsed back, hearing something hard thunking above him. He whirled around as a body came flying from the metal duct and smashed hard into the ground, blood splattering everywhere. Martin instantly recognized it as the Beadle, Napoleon Bonaparte.

His heart was racing. He looked to the oven and realized where all the meat was coming from. All those people who went into the barber shop. He was finally getting it.

"_IYAAAAAAAAAGH-_!!"

--

Johan and Asuka exchanged glances when they heard Martin scream from the basement. Asuka gasped when she realized what must have happened. Johan cursed, and they both flew into the basement.

"Martin, where are you, now?" Asuka called our to the boy. She looked around and couldn't see him. She turned to Johan. "Where is he?" she murmured softly.

She turned and decided to try and lull him out by singing calmly to him, wherever he was.

[Asuka]  
**Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around**

"Martin? Martin!" Johan called, walking a bit behind Asuka as she descended a bit further into the basement. Johan looked around and narrowed his eyes, not missing a single movement.

[Asuka]  
**Nothing's gonna harm you, darling, not while I'm around**

"Martin?" Johan called.

His eyes darted to the stairs of the basement. He had heard something above, in the barber shop. His eyes narrowed, and he dashed back, leaving Asuka near the duct to try and search for Martin.

--

"Mr. Ralleigh!" Diana called, rushing into the barber shop with Cecil at her heels. She glanced around and pointed to Cecil. "You wait for him here. I'll return with the coach in less then half an hour. Don't worry, no one will recognize you. You're safe now."

Cecil blinked and looked to her. "Safe? So we run away with these friends of yours, this Miss Asuka, Martin, and Mr. Ralleigh, and then all our dreams come true?" he asked.

"I hope so," Diana told him.

"I've never had dreams. Only nightmares," Cecil told Diana with a frown. "Most of them were of the day my father was taken, and others, the day my 'mother' committed suicide after Viper raped him."

Diana placed her hands on his shoulders. "Cecil, when we're free of this place, all the ghosts will go away," she reassured with a smile. Cecil looked at her with a small frown.

"No, Diana. They never go away," he told her.

Diana frowned and pushed Cecil towards the trunk in the back of the room. "I'll be right back to you. Half an hour and we'll be free," she said before fleeing down the stairs.

Cecil looked to the chest, the trunk, opened it, and climbed inside, and waited for Diana to return, the lid popped slightly so that he could peer out and see what went on.

---

Me: Oh no! Cecil's now in the barber shop, and Viper is coming! What will happen? And Martin has seen the dead bodies and he knows that there are dead bodies in the pies he's been eating!

Lucy: But Johan killed Napoleon, so that's a plus! What will happen next, read on to find out!

Me: Please review and we shall update ASAP!


	20. The Finale Part II

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: The second part of the finale! One chapter to go after this!

Lucy: What will happen? Will Johan get his revenge on the man who ruined his life?

Me: Read on!

**_Chapter Nineteen: The Finale Part II_**

"Beadle, Beadle, no good hiding, I saw you," a shrill, weak voice called. Cecil glanced towards the door and spotted some weak beggar man come walking into the room.

His face was covered by a hood, his lips, chin, and nose still visible. The beggar looked around the room, his thin body shaking slightly as he took weak steps around the room, his feet creaking the wood underneath him.

"Are you in there still, Beadle? Beadle, Beadle, the Beadle! I saw you!" A weak smile played with the beggar's lips. "No use trying to hide yourself, Beadle!" the beggar called out, twirling around in a circle.

Cecil watched the beggar swirling around, humming a tune that seemed somewhat familiar to the boy.

Cecil jumped a little when the door opened for a second time and revealed Johan standing in the doorway, his green eyes narrowed at the beggar who was standing before him.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Johan spat bitterly.

The beggar reached forward and grabbed the bluenette's arms and leaned forward, looking up at him.

"Is it in here, sir? The stink of evil from below! From this _place_! This place holds the Devil's daughter and wife. Beware of it, sir! This place turns people mad! It's her! That wicked Devil's wife will turn you and that blond woman insane!" the beggar shrieked.

Johan tried to pull away from the beggar, but the beggar would not budge.

Instead, the beggar man leaned forward and tried to get a better look at Johan's face. A weak smile played with his thin lips. It seemed somewhat familiar to Johan, in a way.

"Hey, don't I know you, Mister?" he asked softly.

Johan glanced over and saw Viper fast approaching. His heart raced. This beggar was going to get him killed-! Unless... Johan reached for one of his razors and slashed it across the beggar's neck.

The cut wasn't nearly as deep as Johan had hoped, but it was enough to cause pain, even knock someone out. The beggar's hands flew to his wounded throat, and he stumbled back, falling in the chair. Johan stepped on the pedal and sent the bod below, believing that there was a chance that the fall would kill the beggar. If not, he would just cut his throat later.

The chair just barely fixed itself when Viper stormed in.

"Where is he? Where is the boy?" he snapped.

Johan turned towards Viper with a fake grin. "Below, your Honor. With my neighbor, Miss Asuka. Thank heavens that female sailor did not molest him. Thank heavens too, he has seen the error of his ways," Johan lied.

Viper's eyes lit up. "He has?" he asked.

"Oh yes, sir. He speaks only of you, longing for forgiveness," Johan said with a silent sneer, the darkness of the outside hiding his appearance from the wicked lord.

Viper just smiled."And he shall have it!" he shouted.

[Viper]  
**Pretty men!**

"Pretty men, yes..." Johan murmured softly to himself.

"Quickly, sir, a splash of bay rum!" Viper commanded. Johan pointed to the barber's chair sitting before him. He waved his hand, coaxing the large lord into it, like a spider calling down a fly to its web.

"Sit, sir, sit," Johan said, and Viper obeyed.

[Viper]  
**Cecil, Cecil...**

[Johan]  
**Pretty men...**

"Hurry, man!" Viper snapped. Johan just ignored him and went to work, his mind churning like waves. Do it. Don't do it yet. So many thoughts were bubbling, it was a wonder he was still sane.

[Johan]  
**Pretty men  
Are a wonder...**

"You're in a merry mood again today, barber," Viper said with a chuckle.

Johan ignored the comment and continued with his work. His razor moved across the man's neck and face, not cutting into him just yet. He smirked to himself. It was almost time.

[Johan]  
**Pretty men!**

[Viper]  
**What we do for...**

[Johan]  
**Pretty little men! Pretty men!  
Blowing out their candles Blowing out their candles  
Or combing out their hair,  
Then they leave...  
Even when they leave you Even when they leave,  
And vanish, they somehow They still  
Can still remain Are there,  
There with you there...  
They're there...**

"How seldom it is one meets a fellow spirit!" Viper laughed, clapping his hands on the arms of the chair.

Johan leaned down and put his mouth near the lord's ear. "With fellow tastes... in men, at least," he spat bitterly, his voice dripping with venom of absolute hatred. Viper raised an eyebrow and looked towards Johan with a puzzled look.

"What? What's that?" he asked.

Johan's lips drew back into a wicked smirk. "The years no doubt have changed me, sir. But then, I suppose, the face of a barber... the face of a prisoner in the dock... is not particularly memorable," he spat bitterly.

Viper stared at him for countless moments. His eyes widened when he saw Johan's hand shift, holding the razor like a dagger. He remembered this man. He looked up, mouth agape in horror. His hands gripped the seat, and he couldn't move, no matter how much he wanted to dash away from this man.

"Johan... Andersen-!" he breathed in horror.

Johan raised the razor into the air. "_JOHAN ANDERSEN_-!!" he hollered, hearing his own name seeming to enrage him more. He dug the razor down and plunged it over and over again into the lord's throat. Blood splashed up onto his face, his clothes, all over, but he just kept on stabbing. He had made up his mind.

He had stabbed a few times away from the throat, and now was the time for the four slashes that Johan had silently promised he would make in the man's throat. Four simple, revengeful swipes.

One slash. For himself.

A second slash. For Cecil, his beloved son.

A third slash. For everyone else he had hurt.

A fourth, fatal slash. For Judai-!

Johan stopped after his final slash and stomped on the pedal, sending the lord plummeting down the chute, to the basement below. He panted and looked at his now bloody razor. A smile crept across his lips. He was tired. But he was free.

[Johan]  
**Rest now, my friend,  
Rest now forever.  
Sleep now the untroubled  
Sleep of the angels...**

Johan heard a thump come from the trunk in the corner. He looked over and ripped the trunk open, reaching in and yanking Cecil to his feet. Cecil squeaked in horror as he came face to face with the bluenette.

"You! What are you doing here? Speak!" Johan demanded.

"Oh, dear. Er- excuse me, sir. I saw the barber's sign," he stammered, pointing to the door. "So thinking to ask for a shave, I-"

"When? When did you come in?" Johan commanded.

Cecil's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, sir, I beg of you. Whatever I have seen, no man shall ever know. I swear it. Oh, sir, please, sir..." he looked away as Johan brought his bloody face closer.

"A shave, eh? At your service," Johan said.

He pushed the boy into the chair and brought the razor to his neck. Cecil squeaked and locked eyes with the bluenette. Johan stared down into green-brown eyes, eyes that were so familiar.

His hand shook, and he drew the razor away from the boy's neck. Cecil eyed him as Johan took a step back, his hand shaking. He dropped the razor to the ground with a heavy thunk. The razor formed a small puddle of blood. Johan just stared at the boy in shock, reaching a hand forward and brushing it over the boy's cheek.

"C-Cecil...?" he whispered.

Cecil gulped at the touch, and stared into the bluenette's eyes. He looked at Johan for what felt like hours, and soon, a memory hit. The memory of the teal-haired man who had been taken away from Cecil and his 'mother' when Cecil was just a one year old child. His green-brown eyes filled with tears.

"D-Daddy...?" he whispered in shock, letting a few tears fall.

Johan was about to speak. He had finally found his son! After fifteen long years, Cecil was sitting right before him. Johan reached down and took the boy's hand, about to start to tell him something-

"_IYAAAAGH-!!_"

Johan glanced at the floor and looked back up to Cecil. "Forget what you saw here, Cecil. Just wait," he whispered to his son. He leaped to his feet, grabbed the razor, and rushed down the stairs.

Leaving Cecil to sit in the barber shop with a small smile. He had found his father, after fifteen long, painful years. His father was back in London with him.

--

"Die! Die! All the Gods in heaven-!" Asuka stomped down on Viper's hand, which was clinging to her skirt. She stomped down harder, hearing her boot crunch down on his fingers. "Die!"

The man's hand relaxed and released his grip as soon as he died.

Asuka panted heavily and looked to her side, seeing not only the body of Viper, but the body of the beggar man. She walked over to him and checked on if it was the man she thought. Her eyes widened, and she backed away from the body as if it were a monster from the very depths of Hell itself.

"You! Can it be? How all the demons of Hell come to torment me!" she shrieked in terror. She looked around in fear. She could hear footsteps rushing towards the basement.

Johan was coming.

"No. I-I can't let Johan see what he's done! It'll break the poor man!" she said to herself. An idea struck. "Quick! To the oven," Asuka whispered as she grabbed the light body of the beggar man and started dragging him towards the oven, unaware of the soft movement of the man's chest, though his actions were little.

Johan burst into the basement like a flash. Asuka immediatelt let go of the limp beggar and stepped before him, as if trying to hide him from Johan's sight.

"Why did you scream? Does the lord still live?" Johan asked.

Asuka kicked Viper's bloody hand. "He was clutching, holding on to my skirt, but now he's finished," she murmured, shaking her head in disgust at the memory of it.

She shivered and looked to the beggar's body behind her. She didn't see his chest rising weakly, as someone did when they were very far into their unconscious state of mind that they were unresponsive.

Johan closed his razor and stepped forward.

"Leave them to me. Open the doors," he said, pointing to the oven.

Instead of going right for Viper, Johan went for the beggar, whom he had believed died upon falling through the duct. Asuka's eyes widened. and she grabbed onto Johan's arm, yanking him away.

"_No_! Don't touch him!" she shrieked.

Johan tore his arm away from the blond and cast a glare in her direction. Asuka flinched and moved away. Johan looked just like the Devil with all that blood on his face.

"What is the matter with you?" he reached down and grabbed the hood that covered the beggar's face and yanked it away as quickly as he could, just as the oven door opened and let some light spill in.

Johan glanced down as the hood was removed from the beggar's face.

"It's only some meddling old beggar-"

Asuka flinched and tensed as Johan looked down. His eyes widened, and Asuka knew that he knew.

---

Me: Oh no! Johan, no! Doesn't he realize what he just did! Oh my God! Is the beggar still alive? Johan didn't slash his neck open that hard, but is the beggar still living!

Lucy: And what will Johan think of this!? The ending chapter is next!

Me: Please review nicely and we shall update so you can see how this ends! It may shock you all!


	21. The Finale Part III

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: The next chapter, the final chapter, is up and a-running, peoples! Johan just found out the mother of all secrets, and now, this chapter will show just how he handles it!

Lucy: But will it turn out to be all happy-happy in the end, or is it sad?!

Me: Read on!

**_Chapter Twenty: The Finale Part III_**

"Oh no... Oh God..." Johan breathed silently, looking down at the beggar before him. The beggar laid before him on the ground, on his side, eyes closed as if he were in a peaceful sleep. Dark brown hair hung limply in front of some part of his face, and it was a bit longer than Johan remembered. The cut across his neck was bleeding slightly, not as deep as Johan had believed it was.

Johan reached down and cupped the beggar's cheek, his eyes wide, his body trembling.

"'Don't I know you?' he said..." he murmured. Johan turned and locked eyes with Asuka. "You knew he lived. From the first moment that I walked into your shop, even before then, you knew my Judai lived!"

Asuka's eyes widened at the accusation. "I did not! I was only thinking of you!" she cried.

Johan brought the beggar's limp body into his arms and peered down at him. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around the boy's bleeding throat.

"Judai..." Johan whispered his husband's name, letting tears fall after so long.

"Your Judai!" Asuka pointed to the beggar in Johan's arms. "A crazy beggar picking bones and rotten spuds out of alley trash-cans! Would you have wanted to know that was all that was left of him?!"

Johan glanced at Asuka with hurt written across his face. Asuka saw the tears that were streaming from his emerald eyes, staining his cheeks, since he had not cried on so long.

"You lied to me!" Johan accused in a broken voice.

Asuka put on a nearly straight face, her eyes showing all of her emotions. She looked depressed and sad and lonely all at the same time. Her hands clenched the material of her dress.

[Asuka]  
**No, no, not lied at all.  
No, I never lied.  
I just did not tell all.**

"Judai..." Johan sobbed, pressing his forehead against that of his husband.

[Asuka]  
**Said he took the poison, he did.  
Never said that he died.  
Poor thing,  
He lived.**

Asuka spoke somewhat quickly, as if trying to explain her story before Johan got fed up with her chatter and killed her. He seemed to be ignoring her as she spoke. He only had eyes for his husband.

"I've come home again..." Johan whispered to the man he held in his arms, brushing some of the man's hair from his face.

[Asuka]  
**But it left him weak in the head,  
All he did for months was just lie there in bed.**

**Said he jumped off a cliff into the sea, he did.  
Poor thing,  
He lived, it would seem.**

"Judai..." Johan breathed. He couldn't seem to hold the man he loved close enough. He thought about all the times he had seen the beggar. He knew now that Judai recognized him.

Johan hated himself for not recognizing Judai sooner. If he had, then maybe...

Johan couldn't feel the man's gentle breaths, so weak and frail they were that they went unnoticed. Johan believed that the man he was holding in his arms was truly dead.

Asuka took a step forward.

[Asuka]  
**Should've been in hospital,  
Wound up in Bedlam instead,  
Poor thing!**

"Oh, my God..." Johan murmured to himself, remembering merely moments ago when the beggar, his beloved Judai, had whispered 'Don't I know you, Mister?'. Johan had slashed his throat open.

Johan tightened his hold on his husband as he recalled that moment.

[Asuka]  
**Better you should think he was dead.  
Better you not see what your beloved had become!  
Yes, I lied 'cos I am your friend!**

Asuka walked over and tried to place a hand on Johan's shoulder, but the bluenette jerked away from her and just kept peering down at the man he held so close to his chest in his arms.

"Judai..."

Asuka clenched her fists and bunched up some of the material to her black dress. "I thought the same as you! I thought he was dead as well! I found out that he lived when I saw him a few days ago!" she cried.

Asuka closed her eyes and thought about why she had done what she had done. She should have told him that she knew Judai was alive. She should have told him the moment she found out. But she did not want him to see what had happened to Judai. She didn't want him to see the mess that being raped had turned Judai into.

"I didn't tell you to protect you from seeing what he had become!" she told the bluenette.

As usual, Johan didn't answer her. He just kept staring down at the man in his arms, tears streaming from his green eyes, landing on the lips and face of the man that he loved.

"What have I done?!" Johan cried out loudly, to the heavens.

"Could your heart have bared seeing the one you love like this?!" Asuka demanded to know the answer. She had to know what Johan would habe done if he had known.

Johan placed a soft kiss on Judai's forehead and laid him down on the stone ground. He rose to his feet and turned to Asuka with a sadistic smirk on his lips that made the blond take a step back.

[Johan]  
**Miss Asuka,  
You're a bloody wonder,  
Eminently practical and yet  
Appropriate as always.  
As you've said repeatedly,  
There's little point in dwelling on the past.**

Johan took a step towards Asuka, but the blond didn't trust him as much as she had wanted to. She looked down and saw that his razor was on the floor.

She stepped forward to the bluenette and kicked the razor far away, so that Johan had no access to it. It landed right near the grates that led down to the sewers. If worse came to worse, Asuka could just kick it down in, and Johan wouldn't get it.

[Asuka]  
**Do you mean it?  
Everything I did I swear  
I thought  
Was only for the best,  
Believe me!  
Can we still be  
Friends?  
No, come here, my love...  
Not a thing to fear,  
My dear...  
What's dead  
Is dead.**

Johan grabbed Asuka's hand and drew her forward, as if he were going to start a dance with her. Asuka peered up into his eyes, the eyes of a man who had lost everything in the world.

[Johan]  
**The history of the world, my friend.**

Asuka looked to the beggar's body. She believed he was dead, but she thought that maybe, if they were lucky, there would be a chance that Judai was still breathing and that he could be saved.

[Asuka]  
**Oh, Mr. Ralleigh,  
Ooh, Mr. Ralleigh,  
Maybe he can be saved...**

[Johan]  
**Is learn forgiveness and try to forget.**

Johan ignored what Asuka had said and twirled her around, his eyes narrowed a great amount. Asuka pushed away from Johan and decided to think positive, but her positive thoughts started to die.

[Asuka]  
**Maybe he can be saved,  
Maybe the poison didn't harm him too bad.  
Maybe he always knew it was you,  
And yet...  
Maybe he can't be saved...**

Johan glared when she said that.

[Johan]  
**And life is for the alive, my dear,  
So let's keep living it-!**

[Both]  
**Just keep living it,  
Really living it-!**

As soon as they stopped, Johan turned and walked back to Judai. He sunk to his knees besides the weak beggar and lifted the man that he had... no, still loved, into his arms. More tears returned.

Asuka took a step forward, but Johan whirled on her and glared.

"Leave me, you hear!?" he shouted, causing Asuka to jump in terror. He pointed to the stairs. "Go upstairs and clear out that shop! We leave tomorrow night!"

Asuka pursed her lips and looked to Judai's weak and frail form. "Oh, Mr. Ralleigh..." she mumbled, fiddling with a piece of her hair. "What if he can't be saved? What if he's-"

"_No_! Get out!" Johan shouted at her, like a madman. Asuka jumped and took a few steps away from the barber. "Go pack up and wait! Grab the boy, get the girl, and get out!"

His tone was utterly broken. He sounded like he had just lost everything in the world that meant the most to him. He almost had. Asuka frowned and curtsied to her old friend.

"Yes, Mr. Ralleigh. We'll wait upstairs for you," she told him.

Asuka turned and fled up the stairs to pack, waiting for Johan to come up the stairs after her and pack up his stuff. Johan heard the door to the basement close tightly behind her.

He peered down at Judai and brushed some of the boy's brown hair away from his face.

[Johan]  
**There was a barber and his husband,  
And he was beautiful.  
A foolish barber and his husband,  
He was his reason and his life.  
And he was beautiful.  
And he was virtuous.  
And the barber was...  
Naive.**

Tears sprang to his eyes again, and Johan clutched Judai as close as he could. "What have I done, Judai? What have I done?" the bluenette breathed through his sobs. "Forgive me..."

Johan heard a sound behind him. He glanced over and spotted a very dirty Martin climbing from the sewer grates. Martin looked at the pies, the oven, to Viper's body, and then to the body that Johan was cradling in his arms. Johan turned away and peered down at Judai. He buried his head in the nape of the boy's neck.

"Mr. Ralleigh..." Martin took a step towards Johan.

"Leave me..." Johan breathed.

Martin looked at Viper and then over to Judai's body. He noticed how beautiful the brunette was, and he instantly felt bad about having thrown the beggar out of the pie shop so many times.

"Mr. Ralleigh..." Martin began softly. "Don't you know..." he whispered, looking around at the pies, the bodies, and at the razor that had done it all in the first place. "It's not nice... to hurt people?"

Johan whirled on the boy with a venomous glare.

"Out, I say! Pack your things and get out!" he shrieked his command to the boy like a demon.

Martin turned and flew up the stairs to Asuka, who told him to pack and to wait for Johan so that they could close down the shop and prepare to leave, leaving London forever and never returning. A new life.

Johan clenched Judai and cried.

He cried for what felt like countless hours. Fifteen years of pain and heartbreak was released as he sobbed. Judai, his Judai, his reason to live. His whole world was in his arms, dead.

Johan felt something shift in his arms, but he did not look down.

"Ohh..."

The voice sounded like an angel, a soft, weak whimper. Johan's eyes widened, and he glanced down, seeing the beggar in his arms shift slightly, eyes squeezed tightly, as one does just before waking up.

The brunette slowly let his eyelids flutter open, and he looked right up into teary emerald eyes.

"J-Johan?" he breathed.

The barber was silent for the longest time. So many things he wanted to say. He wanted to hold the man he loved, kiss him, and let him know that they would never be separated again.

But Johan remembered what he was going to say when he saw Judai after all these years.

"Judai..." Johan whispered.

He touched the brunette's cheek with the tips of his fingers. The cloth around Judai's neck was covered in blood, but Judai would live. The brunette looked into Johan's eyes and just stared. Johan smiled at the man he loved, stroking his cheek with the tips of his fingers. Judai didn't even seem to mind the blood on Johan's body.

"I'm home."

---

Me: Yes! Judai lives! Hah! How's that for a twist ending, y'all?! In the original Sweeney Todd, we all know how that one ended, so we decided to do a little difference and changed the ending to one that everyone would like!

Lucy: We hope you enjoyed this story, and we want you all to know that there is an alternate ending to this, though you can all probably imagine how that turns out, and yet, we will update it soon, anyway, as a bonus chapter!

Me: Please review nicely, and thank you all for reviewing and reading this story! We hope to have the alternate ending up as soon as we can, so please, everyone, review!

Both: Thank you all!


	22. Bonus Chapter: Alternate Ending

**Title**: The Demon on Academy Street

**Genre**: romance, tragedy, horror

**Rating**: M for language, violence, and suggested themes

**Pairings**: JohanXJudai (_spiritshipping_); hinted others

**Summary**: Based on "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". After fifteen hard years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Johan Andersen, now adopting the name Jehu Ralleigh, returns to London to find his beloved husband supposedly dead and his son in the hands of the evil Lord Viper. In his anger, Johan goes on a murderous rampage on all London. With the help of Ms. Asuka Tenjoin, an old friend of his, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims with a charming smile before casually ending their lives with a flick of his razor across their necks. But not one man nor ten thousand men killed can satisfy Johan's lust for vengeance on those who've caused his years of pain and the loneliness of losing his family. But to get his revenge, all he needs to do now is try to convince the wicked lord who accused him of the crime, raped his husband and drove him to supposedly committing suicide, and stole his son, to sit in his chair of death.

Me: All right, guys! As promised, this is the alternate ending, though it stays the same as the previous chapter up until like the middle of the chapter, so you will all notice that it's exactly the same until the middle!

Lucy: This one will probably be the one that no one wanted to happen!

Me: Here it is! The Alternate Ending!

**_Bonus Chapter: Alternate Ending_**

"Oh no... Oh God..." Johan breathed silently, looking down at the beggar before him. The beggar laid before him on the ground, on his side, eyes closed as if he were in a peaceful sleep. Dark brown hair hung limply in front of some part of his face, and it was a bit longer than Johan remembered. The cut across his neck was bleeding slightly, not as deep as Johan had believed it was.

Johan reached down and cupped the beggar's cheek, his eyes wide, his body trembling.

"'Don't I know you?' he said..." he murmured. Johan turned and locked eyes with Asuka. "You knew he lived. From the first moment that I walked into your shop, even before then, you knew my Judai lived!"

Asuka's eyes widened at the accusation. "I did not! I was only thinking of you!" she cried.

Johan brought the beggar's limp body into his arms and peered down at him. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around the boy's bleeding throat.

"Judai..." Johan whispered his husband's name, letting tears fall after so long.

"Your Judai!" Asuka pointed to the beggar in Johan's arms. "A crazy beggar picking bones and rotten spuds out of alley trash-cans! Would you have wanted to know that was all that was left of him?!"

Johan glanced at Asuka with hurt written across his face. Asuka saw the tears that were streaming from his emerald eyes, staining his cheeks, since he had not cried on so long.

"You lied to me!" Johan accused in a broken voice.

Asuka put on a nearly straight face, her eyes showing all of her emotions. She looked depressed and sad and lonely all at the same time. Her hands clenched the material of her dress.

[Asuka]  
**No, no, not lied at all.  
No, I never lied.  
I just did not tell all.**

"Judai..." Johan sobbed, pressing his forehead against that of his husband.

[Asuka]  
**Said he took the poison, he did.  
Never said that he died.  
Poor thing,  
He lived.**

Asuka spoke somewhat quickly, as if trying to explain her story before Johan got fed up with her chatter and killed her. He seemed to be ignoring her as she spoke. He only had eyes for his husband.

"I've come home again..." Johan whispered to the man he held in his arms, brushing some of the man's hair from his face.

[Asuka]  
**But it left him weak in the head,  
All he did for months was just lie there in bed.**

**Said he jumped off a cliff into the sea, he did.  
Poor thing,  
He lived, it would seem.**

"Judai..." Johan breathed. He couldn't seem to hold the man he loved close enough. He thought about all the times he had seen the beggar. He knew now that Judai recognized him.

Johan hated himself for not recognizing Judai sooner. If he had, then maybe...

Johan couldn't feel the man's gentle breaths, so weak and frail they were that they went unnoticed. Johan believed that the man he was holding in his arms was truly dead.

Asuka took a step forward.

[Asuka]  
**Should've been in hospital,  
Wound up in Bedlam instead,  
Poor thing!**

"Oh, my God..." Johan murmured to himself, remembering merely moments ago when the beggar, his beloved Judai, had whispered 'Don't I know you, Mister?'. Johan had slashed his throat open.

Johan tightened his hold on his husband as he recalled that moment.

[Asuka]  
**Better you should think he was dead.  
Better you not see what your beloved had become!  
Yes, I lied 'cos I am your friend!**

Asuka walked over and tried to place a hand on Johan's shoulder, but the bluenette jerked away from her and just kept peering down at the man he held so close to his chest in his arms.

"Judai..."

Asuka clenched her fists and bunched up some of the material to her black dress. "I thought the same as you! I thought he was dead as well! I found out that he lived when I saw him a few days ago!" she cried.

Asuka closed her eyes and thought about why she had done what she had done. She should have told him that she knew Judai was alive. She should have told him the moment she found out. But she did not want him to see what had happened to Judai. She didn't want him to see the mess that being raped had turned Judai into.

"I didn't tell you to protect you from seeing what he had become!" she told the bluenette.

As usual, Johan didn't answer her. He just kept staring down at the man in his arms, tears streaming from his green eyes, landing on the lips and face of the man that he loved.

"What have I done?!" Johan cried out loudly, to the heavens.

"Could your heart have bared seeing the one you love like this?!" Asuka demanded to know the answer. She had to know what Johan would habe done if he had known.

Johan placed a soft kiss on Judai's forehead and laid him down on the stone ground. He rose to his feet and turned to Asuka with a sadistic smirk on his lips that made the blond take a step back.

[Johan]  
**Miss Asuka,  
You're a bloody wonder,  
Eminently practical and yet  
Appropriate as always.  
As you've said repeatedly,  
There's little point in dwelling on the past.**

Johan took a step towards Asuka, but the blond didn't trust him as much as she had wanted to. She looked down and saw that his razor was on the floor.

She stepped forward to the bluenette and kicked the razor far away, so that Johan had no access to it. It landed right near the grates that led down to the sewers. If worse came to worse, Asuka could just kick it down in, and Johan wouldn't get it.

[Asuka]  
**Do you mean it?  
Everything I did I swear  
I thought  
Was only for the best,  
Believe me!  
Can we still be  
Friends?  
No, come here, my love...  
Not a thing to fear,  
My dear...  
What's dead  
Is dead.**

Johan grabbed Asuka's hand and drew her forward, as if he were going to start a dance with her. Asuka peered up into his eyes, the eyes of a man who had lost everything in the world.

[Johan]  
**The history of the world, my friend.**

Asuka looked to the beggar's body. She believed he was dead, but she thought that maybe, if they were lucky, there would be a chance that Judai was still breathing and that he could be saved.

[Asuka]  
**Oh, Mr. Ralleigh,  
Ooh, Mr. Ralleigh,  
Maybe he can be saved...**

[Johan]  
**Is learn forgiveness and try to forget.**

Johan ignored what Asuka had said and twirled her around, his eyes narrowed a great amount. Asuka pushed away from Johan and decided to think positive, but her positive thoughts started to die.

[Asuka]  
**Maybe he can be saved,  
Maybe the poison didn't harm him too bad.  
Maybe he always knew it was you,  
And yet...  
Maybe he can't be saved...**

Johan glared when she said that.

[Johan]  
**And life is for the alive, my dear,  
So let's keep living it-!**

[Both]  
**Just keep living it,  
Really living it-!**

It was around this time that Asuka noticed how close Johan was bringing her to the oven. She looked at the sadistic look in Johan's eyes, and before she knew it, Johan's hand thwacked into her chest, and she went sailing backwards, the heat from behind getting hotter and hotter with each and every passing second.

Johan slammed the oven shut as soon as Asuka was in, and he sunk to his knees and covered his ears as she started screaming and pounding against the door.

Soon, her screams died down, and she was dead.

Johan crawled back over to Judai and cradled his husband in his arms. He sobbed and clenched the boy he loved as close as he could. Judai was dead. His chest wasn't rising or falling, and there was no pulse. Johan had cut too deep. Judai had died.

[Johan]  
**There was a barber and his husband,  
And he was beautiful.  
A foolish barber and his husband,  
He was his reason and his life.  
And he was beautiful.  
And he was virtuous.  
And the barber was...**

Johan stopped when he heard a crunching sound. He glanced over and saw a very dirty Martin walking towards him. Martin was flicking the razor open and closed, narrowing his eyes at Johan. Johan noticed the sadistic pleasure in the child's eyes. Martin smirked and lifted the razor up, aiming it towards his own throat. Johan unconsciously clenched his hold on Judai.

[Martin]  
**Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker man.  
Bake me a cake...  
No, no,  
Bake me a pie  
To delight my eye,  
And I will sigh  
If the crust be high...**

Martin looked at the dead man in Johan's arm. "It's the old beggar man. Ya harmed him too, have ya? Ya shouldn't, ya know. Ya shouldn't harm nobody!" the child snapped.

Johan flinched.

This boy had gone mad.

Johan turned and looked down to Judai. He sobbed and clenched the man he loved into an embrace. Johan felt a soft and cold feeling press against his neck.

He felt the razor rip across his throat, tearing it open.

Johan's hands flew to his throat, and he coughed, hacking up blood. He clutched Judai close and let his own blood drip onto the man that he loved before he pitched forward, dying. He was free now. He had joined Judai in death, and they were together forever.

Martin looked at the razor with a smirk.

[Martin]  
**Razor! Razor!  
Cut, cut, cut cadougan, watch me grind my corn.  
Pat him and prick him  
And mark him with B,  
And put him in the oven  
For baby and me!**

The boy threw his head back with a wild cackle. He coughed and cackled louder, ignoring the dead bodies that littered the floor around his feet, the blood that pooled around him.

Academy Street had a new barber.

---

Me: Okay! That was the ending that was close to the original Sweeney Todd ending, but not at the same time! This is the one that I did not want to do, which is why Judai lived in the ending to my story!

Lucy: And now, a big round of applause for our darling cast and characters within this story!

Johan Andersen/Jehu Ralleigh- Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd

Diana Manjoume- Anthony

Beggar Man/Judai-Beggar Woman/Lucy Barker

Asuka Tenjoin- Mrs. Lovett

Cecil Andersen- Johanna Barker

Lord Viper- Judge Turpin

Martin Kono- Toby

Napolean Bonaparte- The Beadle

Cronos- Signore Pirelli

Me: We know all of you probably hated this version of the ending, which is why this was not the original ending, so you can all thank the Heavens for that little fact!

Both: Please review, but only nicely, and thank you all for reading this story!


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